


In the Arms of the Angels

by Tequila84



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Belly Dancing, Childhood Trauma, Drama, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Hurt, Multi, Other, Pain, Physical Abuse, Pole Dancing, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Post-Thor: The Dark World, Psychological Torture, Psychological Trauma, Reader-Insert, Romance, Self-Harm, Suicide Attempt, Threesome - F/M/M, Undercover Missions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-15
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2018-08-20 10:05:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 73
Words: 208,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8245246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tequila84/pseuds/Tequila84
Summary: The Reader has a unique ability to see certain future events, but when one of her visions shows a lose she cannot accept she has to make some difficult choices; ones that will haunt her.  Can she move on and make a new life for yourself, hoping that those she had to leave behind will move on to better places.





	1. Author's Note

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my very first Fanfiction piece, I hope you like it.

It is with great sorrow that I write this message.

I will have to step away from writing this fiction for a while, as the external drive I had all my chapters I was working on somehow broke and I lost every ounce of information for the story.

It's going to take a while for me before I'll be able to post chapters again.  
I have literally been crying because this is a huge loss...  
I hope once I am up and running again that you guys will come back

Thank you to everyone who commented and gave me kudos


	2. Chapter 1

*** 5 Years Ago***

“I know that you guys need me here Professor, but if I stay you’ll lose more than one X-men in the near future. Please understand where I’m coming from.” You plead your case to Professor Xavier in his office, he lets out a sigh and responds. 

“(Y/N) what about your life here, can you really leave those two behind forever? I know what you saw in the future, but the future isn’t written in stone; things can still change.” the Professor states.

You look at your feet at his statement, taking a deep breath in and you say “I know that a choice needs to be made for the future to change to a different outcome than I’ve seen and this is it. Professor, you know Logan and Remy will be okay; they’ll move on. I’m not the one they need; being with me any longer will only get them killed. I can’t live with myself if I was the cause of their deaths…” Sniffling and wiping away the tears that have started falling down your cheeks.

The Professor looks at you, like he knows what you’re going through and comes closer and takes both your hands into his own and says “(Y/N) do what you need to, I won’t stop you, but I can’t guarantee that they won’t search everywhere for you. You know how much they love you.”

You lift your head to meet the Professor’s gaze, knowing that Logan has a unique sense of smell and will track you down and Remy will always try to find you “It’ okay Professor, I’ll be going to see an old friend as soon as I leave the school, who will lock and bind all my feelings and emotions for Logan and Remy until those feels are completely gone and forgotten.” 

The Professor looks at you long and hard, he knows what this process will mean for Logan and Remy, that they will have to move on from (Y/N) by force because you will not and can not reciprocate any feelings and affectionate emotions towards anyone that loves you after the binding spell is complete. “(Y/N) I wish you luck and good fortune wherever you may go, I will miss you dearly; especially our conversations. Take care of yourself and remember you will always have a home here, whenever you are ready to come home.” 

You try to stop tears from flowing down your cheeks as you hug the Professor and turn towards the door to leave his office, with your hand on the door handle you turn and look at the Professor and say “Professor please ensure that Logan and Remy, don’t know we had this talk. I will make sure I’m out of here before anyone wakes up.” Professor Xavier simply nods his head to acknowledge your request and you turn around and open the door and leave the office in complete silence.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Present Day

You open the fridge and take out a bottle of water before closing the door and finding Bucky staying in front of you, looking at you with a smirk ready and clearly with a smart flirty comment ready on his lips; but before he says anything you speak up “Look, Barnes, whatever you have to say is wasted oxygen. I have no interest in hearing your pick up lines.” 

Bucky smiles even wider and steps forward to try and grab your hand as you start walking away from the kitchen counter, but instead you twist around and grab his head and before he realises what’s going on you smack his head into the granite countertop breaking his nose and continue walking as Sam starts laughing by the door frame having seen the whole exchange.

As you pass Sam he smiles and says “Nicely done (Y/N), you really are fun to have around the compound.” He then looks at Bucky and states “Bucky after one year you still haven’t learned anything… No means no dude.” 

You look at Sam and reply “I love being at the compound; Barnes just needs to accept that I’m just not interested.” and carry on walking out of the kitchen toward the elevator and you swear you hear Steve asking Bucky and Sam why Bucky has a broken nose and why there's blood on the kitchen counter; you grimace a little as you press the button for the elevator. You hated hurting people for no reason, but you were so tired of Bucky and his flirting; it was becoming a real problem even worse than Tony’s continual flirting when the whole team was hanging out, cause Bucky was relentless every single day and his flirting wasn't a joke like Tony's were; whether it was Avengers meetings, missions, training or even Tony’s parties.

As the elevator doors open you walk in and press the button for your floor, but before the doors close you see Steve running towards you, so you hold the door open for him. 

“Thanks (Y/N)” Steve says and smiles at you, you simply nod your head and drink from your bottle of water as Steve presses the button for his floor and turns to you. Meeting Steve’s gaze he looks at you with a look of someone who is somewhat proud and amused “You know” Steve states “If you carry on hitting Bucky like that his nose is gonna be permanently crooked” still smiling at you.

You sigh and reply “Could you please get Barnes to stop outright flirting with me, I said I wasn’t interested in dating anyone. I just want to help innocent people in trouble, I don’t need a relationship; I’m happier being on my own.” 

“It’s okay (Y/N), I’ll chat with Bucky again. Though you do know, that the team does worry since you usually stay by yourself in your room most of the time when you’re not training with us, or having team dinners, movie nights or even Tony’s parties.” 

You meet Steve’s gaze and rubbing your thumb against one of your rings, you know that if it wasn’t for your binding rings on both your hands on the middle fingers you would most probably be able to feel and reciprocate Barnes’ feelings, but you also knew that you’d feel something for Steve as well; but he understood your request from the first time you stated you didn’t want to get into any relationships with your teammates. The elevator pings and the doors open on your floor and you step out of the elevator, but before the doors close, you turn to Steve and say “You’re welcome to come for a walk in the forest with me, later this afternoon around 4:00 pm if you want and it’s not a date.” 

Steve looks at you wide-eyed as you turn and walk towards your apartment door and responds “I’ll be there.” Steve smiling innocently at you, as the doors of the elevator close.

You open your apartment door and walk into your apartment and close the door and lock it, sighing 'What am I doing inviting Steve on my walks for?' you think.


	3. Chapter 2

You walk over to your desk and sit down in the comfy chair and open your laptop to going through your personal emails; as you were about to open an email from Professor Xavier a live chat pops up on the bottom right on your screen, you take a deep breath and open it, to say that you were feeling exhausted was an understatement and it wasn’t because of your earlier training session with Wanda and Natasha; you had been redirecting your IP address to cover your tracks from two people who won't stop trying to locate you. The chat had two other people besides you, who were invited to the chat and the first to message arrives in quick succession:

Logan: “(Y/N), Remy and I know where you are…”  
Remy: “Cher come home please, it’s not the same without you…”  
(Y/N): “Guys please stop contacting me, I already told you I can’t come back, and it’s for the best. One day you both will thank me.”  
Logan: “What thank you would you like?! For walking out on Remy and me?! Without even giving us a damn explanation!”  
(Y/N): “Logan I left you and Remy each a letter explaining why I was leaving, why can’t you just accept that you and Remy need to move on?”  
Remy: “(Y/N) you know that you want to come home, I know you do even if you won’t admit it.”  
(Y/N): “Logan… Remy… I’m sorry for hurting you both five years ago, but there was no other way. I have to go, please stop contacting me. I have moved on and both of you need to as well; what I felt for you both has completely faded. There will always be a special place in my heart for you both, but as X-men and as my friends. Goodbye”  
Logan: “(Y/N) don’t you dare leave this chat room!”  
Remy: “(Y/N) wait, love…”

(Y/n) had left the chat room

You felt so numb, there was no crying like at first when you had left Xavier’s School for the Gifted, you were past all those emotions and feelings thanks to the binding spell your oldest and dearest friend put on the rings you wear at all times. Simply you were not moved by flirting or flattery, those comments and gestures fell on deaf ears and you were non-responsive to those kinds of interactions, even now. The spell had drained away all your feelings for Logan and Remy, as much as it felt like someone was cutting out your heart with a knife. You close your laptop and walk through to the bedroom and dropped face first into your bed, right now you just couldn’t be around the rest of the team.

All of a sudden FRIDAY’s voice comes over the intercom, all Avengers please report to the conference room immediately. You slowly look up pull yourself together thinking that you never really ever get a quiet moment to yourself and get up, making your way to the conference room as quickly as possible, meeting up with Natasha and Clint on the way. 

Natasha smirking at you as Clint says “So (Y/N) word has it you broke Bucky’s nose… Again.” Before he and Natasha start laughing and punching you lightly on the shoulder before you guys made it to the conference room.

You walk into the conference room and take the furthest seat at the end of the table where you sit with Bruce to your right and Clint sitting on your left. Everyone files in and last in is Maria Hill and Nick Fury and so the meeting begins swiftly, with Fury explaining that there is a new base that has sprung up in Iceland that Hydra has a hand in with testing on mutants. You go stiff knowing what that means, you had done previous missions with the Avengers; in fact, that’s how they found you and asked you to join later on.

***Flashback to a year and a half ago***

“Don’t worry everyone I’m going to get you all out of here.” You say to the scared mutant teenagers that had been kidnapped by Hydra and another group you hadn’t identified as yet. You had snuck into the hidden facility with ease, even Professor X would have been proud. 

As you got all the cells unlocked when one of the students yelled and you turned to find a massive guard running toward you ready to take you down, you activate your hidden blades along both your forearms and cut right into the man’s chest and turn his body to block the bullets that another guard is shooting at you. You retract your blades and kick the dead guard’s body back, pull out a throwing knife and hit the other guard between the eyes with such force he falls back onto the ground. 

Once you get all the teenagers freed you tell them to keep up with you and use their powers if any guards come up behind them, you lucked out and no guards come from behind but as you get to the exit you hear a huge commotion and you open the exit door slightly and look through the door and find the Avengers fighting the guards from the facility as you try to close the door silently you feel the door being pulled open from the outside.

So you let go and kick the door to catch the person off guard before they can hurt you or the teenagers. To your surprise you come face to face with a tall guy with brunette hair that is almost shoulder length with a shiny metal arm pointing a gun in your face, you tell the teenagers to hide in the office to the left and lock the door, while you still keep eye contact with the stranger in front of you. You don’t back down and decide this is the perfect time to use your katana swords to fight this soldier, you had a feeling this fight was going to be intense, but you could handle it.

You lunged forward with both your blades in hand and began fighting the soldier, he tries to shoot you a couple of times but was taken aback when you managed to slice all the bullets aimed at you; so he throws one of his knives at you, which you catch it between your fingers and quickly throw it back at him hitting him in the left leg quite deeply. All of a sudden everything goes quiet and you realise you are surrounded by a group of people, the Avengers to be exact and they are staring at you with awed and shocked expressions.

Suddenly you see the Avenger known as Captain America walking up to the soldier you just stabbed with a throwing knife and asks him if he’s okay; why would Captain America be worried about one of Hydra’s soldiers being stabbed you wondered.

A frown growing on your face as you slowly back towards the door to protect the teenagers, but you are stopped by Iron Man better know was Tony Stark; he has his arms up in a sign of surrender and his mask comes off revealing his face and he says “Look, kid, we mean you no harm, we’re just here to save more teenagers from Hydra. Now frosty over there, who you just stabbed said you had the teenagers with you; we need to get them out of here to a safe place.” 

You don’t put your katana’s away since you really don’t know if you can trust the Avengers, but respond to Tony’s statement “First off I’m not a kid, I’m older than both your super-soldiers combined, secondly yes the teenagers were with me and thirdly maybe you should had that guy with the metal arm ask questions instead of putting a gun to my face, so we don’t have a situation like this again.” You put your katana’s away and say “Just wait here while I get the teenagers.” 

You turn around and walk back into the facility and tell the teenagers it’s safe to come out; they follow you outside and you tell them that the Avengers are going to make sure they get the help they need as you walk over to Tony, you call Tony aside and tell him “Listen carefully, these teenagers need help and the best place for them is Xavier’s School for the Gifted. Please, can you make sure they all get there safely?” Tony looks at you and gives you his winning smile and says “Of course, can I interest you in getting a ride back with the teenagers and us?”

As you’re about to answer when you notice Captain America coming up to you and puts out his hand for you to shake, you slowly move to put your smaller hand into his as he looks you straight in the eyes and says “Please take off your mask (bearing in mind you wearing a costume, the mask that covers your entire head).” 

You quickly respond with a snide remark “As soon as you take off your helmet Captain America.” He looks taken aback; it seems no one has ever refused the Captain before. He smiles at you and replies “Can I at least have your name ma’am?” You laugh like someone had you told a bad joke and say “You can call me Shadow, for now.” You pull out a smoke bomb and throw it on the ground, using the smoke as a distraction to disappear into the forest nearby, leaving the Avengers behind running as fast and as far away from there as you can.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think :) Comments are always appreciated


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this isn't the reader's first mission, but usually on longer flights 'if' the reader sleeps, she sometimes gets nightmares from different times in her life.

Present Day

Fury finished explaining specifics of the mission, you realise that all of you are needed for this mission, so you knew it was going to be bad. After the meeting finished you were the first out of the door and walking towards the elevator when Wanda and Nat came up behind you and they both linked their arms with yours, Wanda says “(Y/N) are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost?” 

You smile at Wanda and simply respond “I’m alright, I just need a few minutes to myself.” 

Nat gets closer to your ear so only the three of you can hear “Is it Logan and Remy, did you try to contact you again?” You simply nodded your head as the three of you reach the elevator and wait for it to arrive at your level; not realising that Steve and Bucky were behind you guys and had heard the whole exchange. 

You all got into the elevator and went to your respective floors to get ready for the mission, you looked your outfit; Tony had given you a significant upgrade with your outfit and weapons, you put on your suit taking your mask in hand and walked out of your apartment and make your way towards the elevator and press the button.

As the doors opened you were surprised to see only Steve and Bucky in the elevator, so you get in and check that the elevator was heading the weapons level. The doors of the elevator close and you are praying Bucky doesn’t start flirting right now, and shockingly enough no one speaks, but you can feel like both men are staring at you even though your back is to them.

As the elevator pings and the doors open you practically speed walk all the way to the weapons room to get all your weapons together so you could get to the quinjet to leave for Iceland as soon as possible; while you’re packing your knives into the thigh and arm holsters you see Bucky out of the corner of your eye looking at you; you choose to ignore him and carry on placing the straps on for the four katana swords you use in battle and the two hunting knives you have strapped to both ankles and the two hidden blades on your forearms.

You turn to leave the weapons area when Tony, Clint, and Bruce come up to you smiling candidly; you were suspicious of them when they all smiled together but before you can get a word in Tony says “I know you said you don’t use these but I specially designed them for you.”

Than Clint chimes in “After the whole daring thing, where Tony dared you to have a shoot off with Natasha and you beat her even after drinking Thor’s Asgardian liquor was amazing.”

And Bruce gently adds “You never know what situation you might walk into, so being prepared for every possible situation is good.”

As you looked at the three of them they presented two waist holsters and two guns, you decided not to argument right now and took the holsters and strapped them on before taking the two guns from Bruce, your eyes widened when you felt how light they were and place them into the holster with the extra rounds of ammunition, before you look at them and say “Thanks for the weapons guys.” Turning around and walking out of the weapons room and head toward the hanger to wait for everyone by the quinjet.

Entering the quinjet you see Nat, Wanda, and Sam already inside; so you take your seat between Natasha and Wanda, both of them giving you an encouraging hug and smile. Soon Tony, Bruce, Steve, Bucky, Clint, Vision, and Scott are all on board; with Tony and Clint piloting the quinjet; Thor decided to meet us at the drop off zone not far from the facility since he was bringing his brother Loki to help.

Most of the flight was quiet, you were feeling so exhausted not having slept well in months that Nat got you to place your head on her lap as she played with your hair; you gradually drifted to sleep. After about two hours you opened your eyes to find Nat asleep with her head on Clint’s shoulder, so you gently get up so you don’t wake Nat and get up to stretch your muscles and to find Bucky and Steve still awake talking softly.

So you decide to bypass the frost soldiers and head to the cockpit, where Tony is sitting in the pilot’s chair so you take a seat in the co-pilot seat and look at Tony, as he meets your eyes he says “I know you’re worried (Y/N), but everything will be okay. We’ve always got each other's back.” 

“I know Tony, but I have a bad feeling about this mission; I can’t put my finger on it but I can’t help like someone’s going to get hurt.” 

At that exact moment Steve and Bucky come up to the cockpit and having heard your conversation with Tony, Steve chimes in “(Y/N) everything will work out fine I promise, we have each other's backs always right; so the plan will work.” Steve giving you that sweet, kind smile.

While Bucky turns to put his hand on your shoulder but can’t; he's still not used to the fact that the binding spell on you stops a person from touching you if they have any romantic feelings towards you.

You get up from the co-pilot seat and make your way to the back of the quinjet and find a quiet corner to get some sleep before the quinjet lands for the mission to begin; you feel your eyelids drooping and ease into the sleep that has been threatening to engulf you for weeks now.

***Flashback to 6 years ago***

Logan was carrying a sleeping (Y/N) bridal style in his arms to her bedroom, while Remy leads the way and opening the door to your room and walking in after Logan and closes the door. You were completely exhausted from your recent mission, having taken quite a beating protecting Logan and Remy from elite trained mercenaries who had been hunting mutants; Logan lays you down on the bed, as both men gently and softly start removing all of your weapons that were strapped to your X-men suit and get you out of your suit.

Once you were in your underwear both Logan and Remy are so tempted to wake up their sweetheart to properly thank you for the save, but Logan rationally makes the better choice of letting you rest, so Logan and Remy both stripped down to their boxers and place you in the centre of the bed and both of them lie down, one on either side of you in bed and holding you close between them and fall asleep.

As you woke up in the morning you were greeted by all the bruises and aches you had sustained in yesterday’s battle, slowly turning onto your back you saw your two handsome men sleeping soundly on either side of you, giggling silently to yourself as you realise that both of them are sporting a morning glory and were still fast asleep; that would have you busy for hours, but first you slowly and gently untangled yourself from their embrace to freshen up in your bathroom. After a couple of minutes you walk out of your bathroom feeling refreshed, and you’re met by a pair of lust filled eyes that were only for you.

So you confidently lean against the door frame of your bathroom and smirk at Logan and Remy who are looking at you with all the love they have for you, both men getting up from the bed slowly making their way over to you almost like you were prey.

So you back up into the bathroom with your hands up saying “Now boys, this is no way to treat a lady…” Logan pulls you into a hug and lifts you up while you wrap your legs around his waist and smile at Logan, while Remy comes up behind you and runs his hands up your back gently and brings his hands around your torso to cup his hands over your covered breasts, kneading and pinching your nipples at they hardened under his touch; while Logan starts kissing you from your collarbone, up your neck and jawline and finally crashing his lips onto yours while placing one hand around the back of your neck and other on your ass, as you moan into his mouth and arch your back hissing as one of your bruises sends pain running through your body.

Remy unclasps your bra and throws it across the bathroom and kissing you gently up your back and whispers in your ear “Cher you know that you’re supposed to be getting bed rest and yet here you are up early and walking around like you didn’t take a beating.” You arch you back further leaning into Remy’s chest while pulling out of the kiss with Logan.

You respond with a sarcastic comment “Well if you both had been more careful like I said, then I wouldn’t have had my ass beaten so badly.” 

Logan starts kissing you again before breaking the kiss to get some air and he says “Well Remy and I plan on making it up to you, for your sexy ass saving us while we were distracted by your hypnotic moves when you were fighting." and pulls you back in for another passionate kiss while Remy slides his left hand drop between Logan and you, running his hands over your panties feeling the growing pool of wetness, Remy moaning as his right hand kneading your right breast.

Remy looks at Logan with a smile; and says “Logan I think our sweetheart has forgotten about her battle wounds, she’s so wet right now that it’s driving me crazy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think :) Thanks for reading


	5. Chapter 4

Present Day

You are tossing and turning in your sleep as tears slide down our cheeks, Steve is next to you in a split second and gently tries to shake you awake while calling your name in your ear, but you start whispering “No… this isn’t real… Logan… Remy… this isn’t my reality anymore…”

Bucky is standing behind Steve and gives him a look as if his heart is hurting to see you so vulnerable; as much as Bucky would just love to hold you close and keep you safe even from your nightmares, he knows that the binding rings won’t allow him to because he has feelings for you.

Steve manages to pull you into a hug and whispers in your ear “(Y/N) it’s Steve, everything is okay, no one can hurt you… please wake up for me.” but you continue to toss and turn a bit more violently and Steve pulls away to give you some space.

All of a sudden you gasp awake, your eyes wide with tears slipping down your cheeks, Steve tries to comfort you, but you push him away and get up to run to the toilet on the quinjet; locking the door behind you, as Steve and Bucky look at one another completely speechless.

You take some time to splash some cold water on your face and run your hands through your (Y/H/C) (Y/H/L) hair, making sure you at least look decent; looking in the mirror you try to convince yourself mentally that there are innocent mutants that need your help, so you don’t have time to reflect on your past right now. As you are about to open the door you hear a soft knock at the door and you say “I’ll be out in a minute.”

From the other side of the door you hear Bucky as he says “No worries, I was just sent to check if you were okay.” You hear his footsteps leaving, and you feel odd 'Why would Bucky want to check on you?' you wonder; he only knew how to irritate you, why would he care about if you were okay.

You push those thoughts to the back of your mind as you walk out and making your way over to Tony who is still in the pilot’s chair with Bruce in the co-pilot chair, Bruce looks at you with a small smile which you return, as Tony pipes up “You alright kid? You’re walking around the jet more than usual.” looking at you as he put the jet on autopilot.

You shrug your shoulders and simply say “Well you guys are always saying I don’t hang out with the team often enough, so I came over to see what you and Bruce were doing.” Tony seeing right through your cover up story and is about to give you a snide remark.

Then Bruce cuts in “Well it’s always good to learn new things about your teammates.” You smile in gratitude as Bruce looks at you in a brotherly way, as you’re about to ask Bruce and Tony to show you something cool on the panels of the controls Nat comes walking up with Wanda and they link their arms with yours.

“Hey (Y/N) we’ve been looking for you, Wanda and I wanted to have a little girl time before we land.” Nat says with her assassin smile that could convince a Priest to leave the Church in an instant, you sigh knowing why they were both there but you decide to follow their lead, otherwise you’d have some explaining to do with Bruce and Tony who have been concerned that you didn’t sleep enough.

So you reply “Sure Nat, why not. Before shit gets real, let’s have a little fun.”

The three of you walk off to a quiet corner in the quinjet and sit down, Nat having grabbed some food and water. “So why are we having ‘a little girl time’ before the mission?” you say while eyeing both girls suspiciously.

Nat still trying to keep up the façade but as you look at Wanda she blushes slightly and replies “Steve and Bucky came to call us, after your nightmare; we thought maybe we’d just hang out to take your mind off things until we get home.” 

You smile at Wanda and turn to Nat saying “Thanks, guys, but I’ll be fine. You can’t get away from your past and sometimes your past just won’t leave.” Nat smiles at you and hands you a pack of crisps and a bottle of water, as you take it from Nat you say “Thanks, girls, could we just eat in silence… I don’t think I want to talk about anything right now.” Wanda and Nat both smile gently and nod, so you three sit together eating and drinking water as you get closer to your mission destination.

After a few more hours, Tony’s voice comes over the intercom system “Guys suit up, we’re nearly there.” 

You were sitting with your back against the wall of the quinjet checking your katana swords, so you get up and place them back in their sheaths on your back and walk over to where everyone else was gathering.

“Have you confirmed that Thor and Loki are waiting there already Tony?” you state and Tony gives you that ‘are you serious’ look and you say “Just checking, by the looks of the weather, I think he might need to create a bit of bad weather to give us more cover and Loki could create an illusion to distract the guards before we arrived to give us a head start.”

Bruce looks at you and smiles and proceeds to communicate your idea with Thor; who happily agrees. You never cease to come up with good strategies to assist in missions; the teams knows of your past fighting on the X-men team, so they’re not surprised that you look at each mission and look for advantages for the team.

Once the quinjet has landed you opened the hatch to let Thor and Loki inside, Thor grabbing you into a bear hug and giving you thanks for the idea; which you smile and brush off as nothing big. Finally, Cap gets everyone together and he goes over the plan for the mission; the team breaks up into two groups.

Cap leading group 1 (Bucky, Sam, (Y/N), Wanda) and Tony leading group 2 (Nat, Clint, Vision, T’Challa), Thor would stay within the tree line controlling the weather, while Loki kept up his illusion and picking off any guards in the tree line and Bruce would stay in the quinjet unless there was a code green. Tony takes his team to the one end of the building and Cap takes his to the opposite end, going over group responsibilities, checking the comms line and taking up positions. “Alright everyone, you know what you’re doing. So be careful and don’t go too far by yourself in case you need backup.” Everyone looks at Cap and nods silently.


	6. Chapter 5

Tony leaves with his team to get setup; while you and the rest of Team Cap start moving in silently, Sam watching the perimeter as Steve, Bucky, Wanda and you edge closer to the building facility.

Steve motions with his hands for you to get the door open, Steve and Bucky move aside for you as Wanda activates her force field and watches the groups back; you slide one of your throwing knives out of its holster and move closer to the door sliding the knife between the frame and door easing the latch open on the door and slowly opening the door and taking a quick look around in the corridor before signalling that the coast is clear.

You all get in and close the door as Sam comes over comms saying the perimeter guards were coming, the enemy was none the wiser, so following direction from Steve you all made your way down the corridors looking for the kidnapped mutants.

After walking a couple of minutes you begin to get an uneasy feeling as the group gets to a split in the corridor heading in opposite directions, almost like the enemy is expecting all of you; you look up at Bucky’s face and he looks like he's got the same idea as you.

“Steve something’s not right.” Bucky whispers “I know.” Steve replies and turns to look at the group.

He looks like he’s thinking for a minute before he says “Okay let’s split up, we’re only covering a 50-metre distance; if you find anything out of the norm fall back so we can re-group. Wanda, you’re with me, Bucky you’re with (Y/N).”

The team nods in acknowledgment; even though you really can’t take all of Bucky’s flirting and his charming personality, you know that on a mission he’s the best person to have to watch your back, besides Nat of course. As Steve touches his ear piece and lets Tony know what’s happening on our side but as Tony is about to respond over comms shouts and gunfire erupt letting us know that Tony’s team have encountered the enemy.

Steve and Wanda head to the left and you head off right with Bucky; Bucky trying to take the lead but you stop him when you come to a strong set of double doors.

Pulling out your katana swords, Bucky steps back to let you take point, since he knows you'll make quick work of obstacles in your way; deciding to surprise whoever is behind the doors you kick in the doors as hard as you can and run in, but before Bucky can even get in after you a thick glass door slides down from the ceiling sealing you in the room; it almost looks like a training room. Bucky tries to shooting the glass and punching it with his metal arm, but it won’t break Bucky tries to shout at you through the glass but you can’t hear.

So you put your hand to your earpiece and say “Bucky I’m okay.” Bucky just looks at you with those piercing Blue eyes, like his worried; you give him a reassuring smile, but all of a sudden his eyes go wide like he’s trying to warn you as he points past you and begins banging on the glass to try and break it again. “Bucky, listen get back to Steve and try and find another way around.”

“No (Y/N) I won’t leave you!” Bucky shouts through the comms line.

“Bucky, I don’t have time to be distracted I’ll be fine I promise; just get Steve and Wanda.” Bucky just looks at you, like you’re his whole world; you smile at him and then turn around giving your full attention to the guards filing into the training room.

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Bucky’s POV

“No (Y/N) I won’t leave you!” Bucky shouts through the comms line

“Bucky, I don’t have time to be distracted I’ll be fine I promise; just get Steve and Wanda.” You look on helplessly as guard after guard comes running into the training room; you look at (Y/N) and she smiles at you, not like the usual smirk where you need to watch your back because she’s going to get you for flirting with her; it’s a genuine smile like I just made her day.

You watch (Y/N) turn her back to you, facing the guards with her katana’s in hand ready to take them on as the guards are about to attack her; you put your hand to your earpiece and say “(Y/N) please be careful, we’ll get you out alive I promise.”

You all but scream as you watch (Y/N) simply lifts her left hand in acknowledgement and runs towards the guards, you can’t bring yourself to move almost like you’re rooted to the spot watching (Y/N) swing her katana’s; ducking, diving, jumping around the guards like she was dancing effortlessly without breaking a sweat.

As (Y/N) makes eye contact with you, you realise where you are and what you’re supposed to be doing and get on the comms line shouting “Steve… Wanda… Can you guys hear me? (Y/N) is trapped and I can’t get to her. What’s your current location?”

“We’re coming up behind you Buck.” Steve responds, you turn and see Wanda and Steve running up to you, with Sam coming up the rear. You turn back to the glass and she (Y/N) nearly getting shot in the chest by a stray bullet and you almost feel like your heart is about to stop.

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'Dammit why is Barnes still standing there, it’s like he’s in a trance?' you think, as you stop fighting for a few seconds and turn around to look straight into Bucky’s eyes and it’s almost like you brought him back to reality.

'How many of these guys are there? They just keep filling in, it’s like I kill ten guards and twenty appear in their place; shit at this rate I’m going to be exhausted before this fight is over, I'm gonna have to end this fight soon.' you strategies; out of the corner of your eye you see Wanda, Steve and Sam have arrived and hopefully, they are finding a way to get in here because this was getting serious; you could count at least fifty guards still standing with more filling in when there’s room to move.

You make a decision you swore many years ago you would never do again; pulling the guns Tony designed especially for you from your holsters you start shooting, using the guards’ bodies as shields while you mowed down each and every guard you could; with a quick side glance you see Bucky and the rest of the team are gone and your heart drops for a second, but you’re pulled out of your thoughts by someone punching you in the face causing you to fall back. You need to finish this up before you get killed, so you lay down your guns showing the guards you surrender and put your hands up.


	7. Chapter 6

Steve’s POV

“Stark, how are you guys holding up?” you say over the comms line while you, Wanda, Bucky and Sam are running through corridors trying to find a way into the training room to help (Y/N)

“We’ve found the mutants, we’re wrapping up our side. What about you guys?” Tony says over comms.

“We’re going to need help, (Y/N)’s trapped in a training room and we can’t find a way in; she is fighting God knows how many guards, but they just keep coming we can’t seem to find in.”

“Shit, alright I’m getting FRIDAY to scan for possible entry points; I’ll be there in a few with Vision.” Tony says.

You sigh and respond “Copy that.”

You look over at Bucky who looks like he’s on the verge of a mental breakdown, it’s not the first mission we’ve all had together, but Bucky’s reaction to (Y/N) fighting an army by herself has him scared senseless. We need a way in and fast, the last glimpse you have of (Y/N) looks like she is surrendering; her hands up in the air; you can’t let anything happen to her and not only because Bucky would blame himself, but you feel like you couldn’t go on without her around.

“Hey Cap, I found a weak spot; keep following the corridor and get through the door we’re waiting for you.” Tony states.

You’re pulled out of your trance by Tony's voice and everyone sprints towards the end of the corridor and bursts through the door where Tony and Vision are waiting.

Tony turns to looks at you and your team and smiles “We were wondering if you were taking the scenic route Capiscle.” Tony states with a smirk and turns around to blast a hole in the wall with his suit; even with the hole still covered by smoke and rubble I found myself running through it with Bucky as fast as we could, and once we were further in the room we could make out the sight in front of us, what we saw was breathtaking and frightening all at the same time.

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Putting yourself in a vulnerable position such as surrendering is always risky business, with the guards pointing their guns at you, you slowly get up as the guards come closer and as you start to lower your hands two guards try to grab your arms; one on your left and one to your right.

‘Perfect’ you think, it seems fate would allow your plan to play out; taking a deep breath to maintain your self-control (Let’s just say that hanging around Logan for years, was a blessing since he happened to show you what it was like to fight with an animal instinct drive) you release your hidden blades from your forearms and stab the two guards using them as shields as the other guards start to back away from you shooting madly to try and kill you.

You kick off the guard on your right blade and retract the left blade before releasing it again and cutting throw the guards with no mercy, you notice there are two men standing at the end of the room not moving any closer; almost observing you, by their uniforms you can tell their generals for Hydra. Regaining your attention to the fight at hand you misjudge one of the guard’s distance from you and get punched in the jaw and fall over one of the bodies, retracting your hidden blades before hitting the ground on your back; you quickly look around and count twenty guards left and the two generals.

Now you have no choice, there’s no team to help you so it’s either you die or get captured or you let go of self-control and let the animal inside you take over; as you let the feeling overtake you, you tune out the fact that an explosion went off and part of the wall in the room is missing and pull out throw knives in one hand and a katana sword in the other, all emotion and facial expression gone; leaving you with a blank stare as you begin your onslaught of the remaining guards.

Your main prize being the two generals who look a little more concerned than they did a few minutes ago. The guards’ blood splashing onto your uniform and face as you slice through them effortlessly, they don’t stand a chance not with you not hearing a thing or even registering the guards who are begging and pleading for mercy.

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Bucky’s POV

As soon as Tony blows a hole in the wall, I run into the training room without a second thought. ‘Please let (Y/N) be okay. Please...’ you think, as you run further in you can make out a fight still going on; but you stop and stare as Steve stops next to you.

There are bodies everywhere, just by a rough estimate from a quick glance around the room there are at least a hundred guards all dead; but what really catches my eye is that (Y/N) is still fighting and it looks like there are just two enemies left. I take a step forward to help (Y/N) finish off the two enemies.

Steve’s hand grasps my shoulder and I turn to protest, but Steve interrupts me “Buck I know you want to help (Y/N), but look at her face and posture. She won’t recognise you when she lets her animal instinct take over and you’ll only get hurt by trying to help her now.” You turn back to look at (Y/N) and your heart stops, you had only seen that look on (Y/N)’s face once before and you never wanted to see it again, seeing her like this felt like she was fighting for dear life.

In that moment you realised, (Y/N) wasn’t just someone to flirt with and tease, you had made a mistake in thinking that maybe it would have been fun ‘to roll around in the hay’ with her; but right now all you wanted was for (Y/N) to be okay.

You sigh as Steve releases you and you look at (Y/N) fighting, everyone else standing silently watching as well; (Y/N) being a sight to behold and a force to be wrecked with in this current state that she was in.

As she is about to kill the last man, you see thing movement out the corner of your eye and realise one of the guards on the ground has his gun aimed at (Y/N) and shoots, you pull up your sniper rifle and take the shot killing the guard instantaneously, but you’re too late (Y/N) gets hit in the side, but she doesn’t stop until she’s cuts off her enemies head.

(Y/N) turns to face you and your almost smile at her, but that thought flies right out your head as you watch her fall to the floor holding her side.


	8. Chapter 7

Nearly there you thought as you cut down the last of the guards before you made your way to the two generals who were now showing fear, but would not back down or run. ‘This is going to be fun’ you thought as sheathed your katana sword, having run out of throwing knives and release your hidden blades as you get closer to the men; you know better than to be distracted so you look for signs in their body language for who would be more of a challenge in the fight, and as you are within striking range with your blades, they back away further pulling out their guns and start shooting at you; but you all but growl your (Y/E/C) eyes darkening to almost black the colour practically gone altogether.

Making quick work of the first general while the second keeps shooting at you, anyone watching you would swear you were dancing around the room and not fighting to stay alive; you had a rhythm and flow about how you fought; that people say that was why many of your victims never saw death coming because you were hypnotic in fights. When you finally get close enough you strike right at the second general’s throat with your blade and pull out the blade and cut off his head, not hearing the gunfire that had just gone off somewhere in the room.

You finally refocus raining in your self-control and feel your team watching, so you turn around smiling knowing that you didn’t need their help in this fight; but realisation hits when you feel pain shoot through your side as you lock eyes with Bucky, ‘SHIT!’ you think as you lose consciousness as falling to the floor.

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Steve’s POV

“DAMMIT! (Y/N) NO!!!” you shout and run forwards with Bucky to get to (Y/N) as fast as you can, how could you let this happen on your watch. As you get near (Y/N) you realise you and Bucky can’t get any closer to touch her, usually it was Bucky who had that problem because of the binding rings that (Y/N) wore, since Bucky had feelings for (Y/N) from when she first stabbed him with a throwing knife when they first met.

But you had been able to touch her before this moment, if she was injured or to just hug her when she needed so form of comfort. You never thought you’d find yourself feeling anything for anyone after Peggy’s death and Sharon leaving you to further her career, but all you wanted to do was hold (Y/N) tell her it was going to be okay.

You catch Wanda’s eye and you know that she knows what’s going on, so she steps forward with Vision to look (Y/N) over; “The bullet has missed all vital organs, however the bullet will need to be removed immediately.” Vision states looking at everyone, Tony tells FRIDAY to alert Bruce for prep as (Y/N)’s been injured; you can hear Nat asking over comms what happened.

You interrupt Nat saying “Nat, we’ll talk about it when we’re all on the quinjet.” you watch Vision pick up (Y/N) and proceed to float through the walls to get (Y/N) as quickly as possible to Bruce, while the rest of the Avengers evacuate the building for SHIELD to come in and clean up.

You and Bucky walk side by side back to the quinjet and you see Bucky giving you a look and you think you know the conversation you’re both going to have once the ear pieces are taken out and you are back at the compound; what am I going to tell Bucky ‘Sorry punk I know you have a thing for (Y/N) since she stabbed you, but I think I’m falling for her too?’ this is just so messed up.

I just don’t know what to do. You look down at your feet until you get back to the jet, not saying one word; as you walk in you lift your head and see Wanda talking to Nat quietly, you drop your shield on one of the seats and Bucky puts down his sniper rifle next to your shield as the quinjet doors close and the jet takes off; both of you making your way to where Vision has placed (Y/N) on a make shift table.

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Bucky’s POV

“NO, NO, NO!!!! (Y/N)!!!!” You scream and run towards (Y/N), this can’t happen ‘please this can’t happen to me’ you think, I finally found someone who I want to be together with and now this. You get near (Y/N) but you know you can’t touch her because of her binding rings, any guy that has any feelings other than friendship can’t touch her; I never asked why she had them but I hope she lives so I can ask her.

You look over at Steve who would usually be helping (Y/N), but right down he just knelt near (Y/N) at the same distance as you; what the heck was going on? There could be only one logical explanation and you’re not sure how you feel about knowing that Steve can’t touch (Y/N).

You decide to turn your attention to Vision as he picks up (Y/N) and carries her to the quinjet, the rest of you make your back to the jet; you find yourself looking at Steve again your expression is something between concern and irritation, Steve seems to keep his face as blank as possible but you know better, having known Steve for so many years you sure as hell know better.

You want to confront Steve about what happened in the facility, but right now you are more worried about (Y/N), so you push aside your concerns for now; you place your sniper rifle down next to Steve’s shield and walk with him toward Vision and Bruce who are prepping (Y/N) to remove the bullet from her side.

Damn it, after (Y/N) is completely healed he is really going to need to have a serious conversation with (Y/N) about how he feels about her.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You feel something poking at your side and wake up with a start, you feel someone’s hands placing pressure on your shoulders and they push you back down onto a table; you think it’s Steve since usually he’s the one who assists when you’re injured, but Vision was the one assisting this time, so you look around and find Bucky and Steve standing next to each other at a distance; you don’t think too much of it ‘Steve must be supporting Barnes, because he must blame himself for what happened to you.’ You think.

Vision gets your attention and states “Miss (L/N), please remain still; while Dr Banner removes the bullet from your side.” You simply nod and lie down again as Bruce continues to remove the bullet as you stare at the ceiling.

You hear Tony over the intercom that they would be making a pit stop at Xavier’s School for the Gifted to drop off the mutants; ‘Shit...’ you thought I really hope Logan and Remy are not there, even though you hadn’t seen them in just over five years ago; you had moved on you didn’t have a choice but what made it worse is that Logan and Remy had refused to move on with their lives, they still believed we could be what we once were.

You’re brought back from your thoughts by Bruce asking “(Y/N); am I hurting you?” 

You look at Bruce with a gentle smile and respond “I’m okay Bruce, I was just thinking. I thought you would have taken the opportunity of my mind being distracted for you to get the bullet out.”

You almost laugh, but stop when you feel the pain; so you look at Bruce and give him a nod to tell him to continue. It doesn’t take long to take out the bullet as you told Bruce not to be gentle because your pain threshold was high, so before long you were stitched up with a bandage over the closed wound.

You get up from the table and you notice that Steve and Bucky are in their seats fast asleep and make your way over to Nat and Wanda who have stayed out of the way, once they saw Vision bring you to Bruce for treatment.

“Hey girls.” You say smiling at Nat and Wanda, they practically jump out of their seats and give you a hug; you laugh as they don’t seem to want to let go of you but your stomach grumbles and Sam laughs from the corner where he’s seating with Thor and Loki who have gotten up to see how you’re doing.

Sam gets to you first and smirks at you while saying “I’ll get you something to eat.”

You nod in gratitude and then Thor almost pushes Nat and Wanda aside as he gets you into a bear hug, which makes you whines slightly as he says “Lady (Y/N) you are truly a formidable opponent from what the others have stated.” You simply smile at him not saying a word.

It’s not until Loki looks at you and comments with a sly smirk “(Y/N) I think you could teach the soldiers of Asgard a thing or two about being a true warrior.” that you find yourself almost blushing at his remark as Thor puts you down, taking a seat you feel exhaustion flow over you, Nat and Wanda sitting down on either side of you as Sam arrives with a sandwich and bottle of water for you; you take it gratefully and dig in.

Wanda sensing you were feeling tired decided to use her magic to lull you into sleep after you finished eating, your head dropping onto Nat’s shoulder and you feel your body go limp.


	9. Chapter 8

You know you were awake a minute ago, this feeling you have almost like sleep but you don’t remember closing your eyes; you feel like your floating on clouds your mind fighting between wanting to stay awake and the other telling you it’s okay to fall asleep.

‘Damn it Wanda’ you think, she always pulls this stunt when she thinks I need some rest; though it feels like eternity so you open your eyes to find the small group of mutants the Avengers saved sitting in a corner like they were afraid of what was coming, so you slowly get up 'when had you been moved to a bed?' you thought and the group looks at you.

You climb off the bed and make your way over to them slowly and calmly and take a seat on the floor facing them, they just return your look and you know you need to say something or they may just completely lose it before getting to the Professor.

So you smile and start off easy “Hi everyone, I’m (Y/N), I’m one of the Avengers. I know right now you’re scared and afraid after what Hydra did to you. We’re taking you to Xavier’s School for the Gifted, it’s an amazing place where you can learn to develop your natural gifts and learn to control them; there’s really nothing to be afraid of, I used to live there and I learned so much; you’re going to be in good hands trust me.”

The group of mutants gives you look of relief, so you carry on speaking “Has everyone been given something to eat and drink yet?” they all nod and give you a small smile. “We should be there soon, maybe try getting a little rest if you can.” You get up slowly from the floor and whines when you get a sharp pain in your side, remembering your bullet wound; you brush off the pain as you walk out of the room and turn toward the cockpit to find Tony and Clint piloting the quinjet.

“Hey Tony, Clint.” You say with a smile, then both turn look at you; Clint rushing out of his seat and hugging you tightly and you try not to yelp in pain.

Tony says “(Y/N) we’re going to arrive at the school in less than 20 minutes; maybe you should get some more rest and Cap and I can handle the handover of the group of mutants.”

You knew immediately what Tony was trying to do and you let go of Clint who has returned to his seat and turns to face forward, you move right next to Tony and state “Tony, I’m not a child so don’t treat me like one. I can handle myself and besides what kind of respect would I be showing the Professor if I just sat in the quinjet while the rest of you take the mutants into the school?”

Tony sighs knowing you had no intention of letting him get his way, so he simply nods once and waves his hand for you to get out of the cockpit.

You storm off knowing who was behind this 'little idea' that Tony had and you plan on confronting them about it; as you get to the middle of the quinjet where the rest of the Avengers were seated you see Wanda and Nat whispering in the corner.

You head start for them and shout at them “WHAT THE HELL DID YOU SET TONY ON ME FOR?!?!” they both look at you and sigh.

Nat stands up and steps closer and you step away from her and Wanda “(Y/N), I just thought it would be better if you stayed in the quinjet, while the rest of us handled the rest. I just thought you wouldn’t want to be in an awkward position.”

You know exactly what she’s talking about and you notice the guys pretending not to listen in on the conversation, hence Nat’s vagueness in what she said to you.

“You know what...” you say as you point at both Wanda and Nat “I don’t need you both to baby me, I’m a damn grown woman older than both of you put together and then some. You both overstepped the line with this and you can be damn sure I’m going to walk right out of this quinjet and see the Professor.”

You turn around to see every one of the Avengers staring openly at you now, including Tony and Clint; then you realise no one in the group knew your true age and you just let the cat out of the bag. You sigh deeply and walk off leaving everyone shocked, while you found a quiet corner to sit and wait for the quinjet to land.

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Nat’s POV

You look over at Thor who is stuffing his face with food, along with Steve, Bucky, and Sam; you swear it was an eating contest to see who could finish all the food on the jet first.

So you say “Hey Thor, would you mind putting (Y/N) in one of the infirmary beds, where the mutants are. I need to have a word with Tony quickly before we land at the school.” Thor all but drops his food with a smile, stands up and walks over to you, where (Y/N) still has her head on your shoulder.

Thor replying “Of course, Lady Nat.” And you watch as Thor picks (Y/N) up ever so gently, taking care not to wake her and leaves the main area for the infirmary.

You look over at Wanda, since she read your mind and nods in agreement of what you’re thinking of doing; so you make your way to the cockpit and are greeted by Tony and Bruce.

“Um Tony could I have a word quickly?” you say, Tony looks at you suspiciously but proceeds to get out of the pilot's seat and puts on the autopilot to give you his full attention.

“I don’t think (Y/N) should leave the quinjet when we get to Xavier.” You state looking at Tony, he looks like he wants to ask questions; so you try to distract from the real issue since of course no truly knows what a spy is doing or thinking and say “Look, (Y/N) was shot and you should have seen how peaceful she looked when she fell asleep with her head on my shoulder. She really needs to rest; everyone has heard her screams through the compound during the night, just let her rest. I’m sure Professor Xavier will understand.”

Tony tries to gauge what you are really hiding, but he shrugs it off for now and says “Look, I can’t force (Y/N) to stay in the quinjet; remember the school was her home at one stage. So it would be like taking someone to the door of their family home but stopping them from entering and seeing their family. If (Y/N) is asleep when we arrive, no one will wake her; but if she wakes up and chooses to leave the quinjet to see the people at the school it's her choice.”

As you’re about to make a smart remark Tony get back into the pilot's seat and faces forward and turns off the autopilot.

You look at Bruce who gives you a gentle smile and you leave the cockpit, grabbing some food and water for you and Wanda before heading back to your seat; Wanda looks up at you but you don’t need to say anything cause she has already read your mind and she gives a sigh before you sit down and both of you dig into your food.

After a while Wanda leans over as you dismantle and reassemble your gun and whispers “(Y/N)’s waking up; she fought my powers out of her mind.”

You simply nod and finish reassembling your gun before putting back in your holster, as you think to yourself ‘please don’t see Tony before we land.’ It’s about 15 minutes before you hear hard footsteps when someone enters the room and you already who it is, but you keep looking at Wanda pretending like you’re both having a conversation.

You suddenly hear “WHAT THE HELL DID YOU SET TONY ON ME FOR?!?!” you and Wanda both look at (Y/N).

You sigh; ‘Shit damn it!’ you think as you get up from your seat and step toward (Y/N) you see her take a step back ‘oh hell, this isn’t a good sign.’ You think; anytime (Y/N) steps back you try talking to her that means she’s closing herself off.

You quickly state “(Y/N), I just thought it would be better if you stayed in the quinjet, while the rest of us handled the rest. I just thought you wouldn’t want to be in an awkward position.” It wasn’t exactly untrue, (Y/N) had explained the whole situation to you and Wanda about Logan and Remy; and you just wanted to protect (Y/N) and the team in case both men tried to make you stay at the school with them.

The guys are staring with curiosity and concern now and look at (Y/N) as she says “You know what...” she says as she points at you and Wanda “I don’t need you both to baby me, I’m a damn grown women older than both of you put together and then some. You both overstepped the line with this and you can be damn sure I’m going to walk right out of this quinjet and see the Professor.”

Wait did I just hear that right? Wanda and I weren’t babying her; we were just trying to avoid any possible situations. Well ‘Shit.’ You think as you watch (Y/N) turn around and walk away; fine let her figure that shit out herself, as long as the team wasn’t hurt in the process of her being a stubborn ass.


	10. Chapter 9

As Tony starts landing the quinjet, and you feel yourself saying ‘Professor I’m home...’ in your mind and you smile when you hear a voice in your head respond ‘It’s good to have you back, even if it’s just a short visit (Y/N)’. You get up from where you had been hiding from everyone; especially Nat and Wanda.

You walk through to the cockpit and let Tony know you’re getting the group of mutants ready to leave.

Tony gives you a sly smile before piping up as you walk away “Yeah (Y/N), just don’t go flirting with any of those guys cause I want first dibs on you.”

You start laughing and reply “Sure Tony, as soon as I become desperate for a fuck I’ll give you a call.”

Tony just laughs and goes back to landing the quinjet as you make your way to the infirmary room.

Once you get there, the group you had been chatting with a look up to see you and you give them a gentle smile which they return and you say “Well everyone, you’re nearly at you new temporary/ permanent home. If you’ll just follow me please.”

The group gets up without a word follow you to the rear of the quinjet, your team watches you without saying a word, Nat and Wanda standing further back then the guys.

You look at your team and say "you guys are more than welcome to come inside with me if you want."

Bucky and Steve practically bouncing wanting to go with you to the school; in the end, the whole Avengers team wants to come with and see what your previous home was like and you just give a small smile.

‘Professor my teams would like to meet you, are you okay with that?’ you think hesitantly.

But your hesitation is gone as soon as you hear the Professor ‘It would be a pleasure to meet your second family (Y/N), why don’t you leave the group you all rescued with Beast for a quick check up and come through to the simulation training room; I’m sure you will want to see someone here, who has missed you dearly.’ ‘Thank you Professor’ you think with a broad smile on your face.

You walk over to where your katana swords, hidden blades and two big hunting knives are; you strap them to your body and you notice Steve walk up to you but maintaining a distance.

Steve says “(Y/N) is everything okay? We’re just dropping these people off and then we’re going home, right?” you look at Steve with a questioning look.

‘Why was Steve still keeping his distance?’ you decide to push that question aside for a later time and reply “Steve, Professor X would like to meet all of you. I’m just being my usual paranoid self; don’t worry I plan on returning to the Avengers compound with everyone as soon as our visit is over.”

Steve sighs a breath of relief and nods before walking over to the guys to tell them the news.

It’s not long before Tony has landed the quinjet and you open the hanger door for everyone to fill out, including your team.

Tony gives a low whistle as you all make your way into the school, you quick say “Stark, no funny business of any kind and no hacking their systems.” It wasn’t really a question or concern because Tony knew better than to not listen when you used this tone of voice.

He simply nods and carries on admiring everything at the school as everyone falls in behind you.

As soon as you walk through the door students who remember you come over to greet you and hug you, telling you how much they missed you and you smile back and tell them you miss them too; as you make your way to the infirmary room all the way down the hall.

You stand out the door of the infirmary after a few minutes take a deep breath and walk in, looking for the one person that you loved having intelligent conversations; well besides the Professor that is. Walking further into the room the Avengers staying behind by the door and watch you, as you look around and find no one; so next step you look up at the ceiling and low and behold there is Beast hanging upside down reading a book.

You walk up under him and put your hands on your hips while smiling and say “Well is this how the clever and strong Beast, uses his time now?” Beast looks down at you and a wide smile spreads across his face, from ear to ear and he jumps down from the ceiling and pulls you into a hug.

“Well ever since you left (Y/N) this infirmary has been quieter you know.” You give him a look, as if to say ‘yeah right’ and laugh; before turning around to the two groups.

You introduce the Avengers quickly to Beast before you get him to move onto the group of mutants you and the Avengers had saved.

You look at Beast, then at the group and say “Everyone this is Beast, he is an amazing person; and really cuddly like a big teddy bear, just blue.” That gets the group smiling and a couple of the girls giggle as you continue to say “Beast is going to make sure you are all okay, then later you’ll make the Professor who is the head of this awesome school. Will you all be okay with Beast giving you all a quick check up and setting you all up with a room?” the whole group nods and smiles at you.

You respond with “Okay, so I’ll leave you all in his capable hands.” And turn to leave.

When one of the people in the group calls out your name and you face them again the person steps forward quickly and states “Thank you so much for everything you and the Avengers did for us; we really are grateful.”

You give a gentle smile and say “It’s okay, maybe one day you all will get a chance to return the favour to someone in need.”

Turning around again you walk towards the Avengers and you all file out of the infirmary room and close the door, heading towards the simulation training room, as per Professor X’s request.

You arrive at the entrance of the simulation training room and knock on the side door, ‘hopefully no one was training’ you thought and as soon as the door opened you got a quick look at white hair before being hugged to death by a body.

You burst out laughing and say “Geez, Ororo any harder and I’d swear you learned how to squeeze the life out of a body was now part of your powers.”

You smile and carry on laughing, after a few minutes which make the Avengers uncomfortable, Professor X makes his way down the hall towards everyone. Ororo let’s go of you and still keeps her arm over your shoulder and smiles at the Professor, so you take this opportunity to introduce everyone.

“Ororo this is the Avengers starting from left to right: Steve, Bucky, Vision, Bruce, Nat, Wanda, Tony, Sam, Bruce, Thor, Loki, and T’Challa. Everyone this is Ororo an old friend of mine, also known as Storm with the Xmen.”

Before you could go on to introduce the Professor, he moves forward and introduces himself and thanks the Avengers for saving the mutants from harm; making the Avengers slightly blush and feel flustered as Steve steps forward looking like a rip tomato and comments that it was their duty and job; as you cough to hide your laugh.

You’re about to say goodbye to the Professor when Ororo says “Hey (Y/N) why don’t you training with me quick, I was just setting up a simulation and I’m sure you haven’t had a hectic training session since you left the school.”

You smile at Ororo and turn to the Professor who nods his head for you to go ahead, but before you can move with Ororo through the simulation room doors; Bucky and Steve practically shout.

“No!!!” in unison, Bucky continues “(Y/N) got shot on the mission today, she’s in no shape to train right now.”

You look at Bucky with complete irritation, he knew nothing of what your body could really endure; though before you’re able to snap a remark at him the Professor moves further forward.

The Professor says “I think you underestimate (Y/N) and her abilities, please follow me and you’ll see what I mean.”

You turn back to Ororo to see her eyes lighting up as you walk into the training room and close the door; as the entire Avengers group moves to another door, to view from a safe and secure room.


	11. Chapter 10

Bucky’s POV

You hear (Y/N) shouting at Nat and Wanda, wondering what had got her so mad; usually (Y/N) never got mad at those two, they were like sisters.

As you concentrate on their conversation you catch (Y/N) saying “You know what...” she says as she points at you and Wanda “I don’t need you both to baby me, I’m a damn grown woman older than both of you put together and then some. You both overstepped the line with this and you can be damn sure I’m going to walk right out of this quinjet and see the Professor.”

Hold up you think older than Nat and Wanda put together and more? There’s no way she could be that old or older, as she just stated. You don’t have the balls to ask at this point as (Y/N) walks off, ‘I really am a douchebag’ you think to yourself; if I hadn’t been a shameless flirt I might have been able to be (Y/N)’s friend first and I could have been sitting with her now calming her down.

You decide to turn back to the conversation the guys had resumed, until the quinjet lands and you see (Y/N) bringing the group of mutants from the infirmary to the entrance of the quinjet.

After a few minutes you watch (Y/N) strapping her weapons onto her suit and wonder what is happening, but before you manage to move a muscle you see Steve walking over to (Y/N) to talk to her.

You can make out what he says “(Y/N) is everything okay? We’re just dropping these people off and then we’re going home, right?”

You see (Y/N) looking at Steve with a questioning look; and (Y/N) replies “Steve, Professor X would like to meet all of you. I’m just being my usual paranoid self; don’t worry I plan on returning to the Avengers compound with everyone as soon as our visit is over.”

You watch Steve sigh a breath of relief and nod, as you release a breath you didn’t realise you had been holding while you waited for (Y/N)’s answer to Steve’s question. Steve walks back over and lets everyone know that the Professor of the school wanted to meet everyone, so you just pretend that you’re thinking while you make sure to keep (Y/N) within your sight as everyone prepares to disembark from the quinjet.

You silently watch (Y/N) as she gives Tony a stern warning before we leave and find yourself smiling, that’s the (Y/N) you know who is always almost like the mother hen; ‘how did I not realise it before’ you think to yourself. You follow behind (Y/N) at a distance, ‘Damn it.’ You think I hate those binding rings right now; I would love to just be able to walk right next to her and get a chance to smell her beautiful scent, even if she still smells of sweat and blood; you let out a sigh and follow everyone else keeping the mandatory distance with Steve that the ring forces on you both.

As you watch (Y/N) walk through the school you watch how natural everything falls into place for her, like she just got home; so this was home for her before and you find yourself asking ‘What could have happened to make her leave a place that she so clearly this loves and considers home?’, but you refocus when you see (Y/N) opening a door and above the door frame reads “INFIRMARY ROOM” and you follow everyone in, but you step to the side of the door frame with Steve and watch (Y/N) looking for someone or something, when she looks up you follow her gaze and nearly jump seeing a blue looking bear hanging from the ceiling.

You listen to (Y/N)’s exchange with the blue bear and she looks as happy as ever, and you begin to wonder ‘Does (Y/N) not feel like she has a home with the Avengers? The people who she has shared the compound with for a year?’ your mind continues to speculate until (Y/N) walks over and introduces the blue bear as ‘Beast’.

You give a smile because you don’t want to be rude that (Y/N) is taking the time to introduce people from her past. You watch (Y/N) say goodbye to the group you all saved, well everyone except you; you were the dumbass that couldn’t even watch (Y/N)’s back, leaving her to defend herself from an army, taking a deep breath you follow (Y/N) out of the infirmary room and follow her down corridors and passages until she stops outside a door and knocks on the door and waits.

All of a sudden the door opens and you see woman with white hair jump at (Y/N), which makes you grab your knife thinking that (Y/N) was in danger, but hearing (Y/N) laugh loudly and smile like she just won a prize you let your hand drop from the holster where you keep your knives.

You and the rest of the team watch (Y/N)’s exchange with the other woman, until (Y/N) introduces everyone to the woman; it seems (Y/N) and this woman ‘Ororo’ are or were really close.

You hear someone coming up the corridor in a wheelchair and introduces himself to everyone and you return his greeting with a smile and nod your head, ‘so this is Professor Xavier who runs the school for mutants’ you think; but (Y/N) didn’t have mutant powers, sure she was I gifted fighter if it weren’t for the binding rings you’d like to have a sparring session with her.

You’re pulled from your thoughts when you hear Ororo say “Hey (Y/N) why don’t you training with me quick, I was just setting up a simulation and I’m sure you haven’t had a hectic training session since you left the school.”

You and Steve practically shout “No!!!” in unison, and you continue “(Y/N) got shot on the mission today, she’s in no shape to train right now.” You see (Y/N) give you a look of irritation, and you don’t get another word in as Professor X moves forward.

The Professor says “I think you underestimate (Y/N) and her skills, please follow me and you’ll see what I mean.”

Everyone looks at each other, but decide to follow the Professor when you see (Y/N) walk through the training room doors; sighing and slump your shoulders as everyone files into a room where you could view the simulation training room, which was a huge empty room there in the centre of the room.

You see (Y/N) talking to Ororo before you hear Ororo say “Professor, we’re ready when you are.” You begin feeling a little anxious as you see a physical simulation appear in the room where (Y/N) is with Ororo and think ‘I hope you’ll be okay (Y/N)’.

You catch the Professor’s gaze and you hear the Professor's voice in your mind ‘(Y/N) will be fine, just watch.’

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Steve’s POV

You turn around and see (Y/N) walk in with the mutant group, turns to the group and says “You guys are more than welcome to come inside with me if you want” at that you and Bucky practically jump wanting to see the inside of the school where (Y/N) used to live; in the end the whole Avengers team wants to come with as well you watch (Y/N) give you all a small smile.

You watch as (Y/N) goes quiet for a few minutes, but you get worried when you see her strapping her weapons to her suit, so you walk over to speak to her, but as you approach you feel an unbearable force keeping you from getting any closer to (Y/N) and you realise this is what Bucky has been feeling for a year now ‘Come on!’ you think and decide to just speak to (Y/N) from where you stood.

You say “(Y/N) is everything okay? We’re just dropping these people off and then we’re going home, right?”

You see (Y/N) giving you a suspicious look as she replies “Steve, Professor X would like to meet all of you. I’m just being my usual paranoid self; don’t worry I plan on returning to the Avengers compound with everyone as soon as our visit is over.”

You release a breath of relief and nod before walking over to the team to tell them the news (Y/N) just gave you.

You decide to stand back and watch from a distance, because you were worried that (Y/N) might have realised that your feelings toward her had changed from friendship into something deeper and more intimate; you found yourself taking in the whole school as the team followed (Y/N) through the school, (Y/N) must have been really popular here before she left.

Though these kids look like teenagers and from what (Y/N) said on the quinjet she was way older than these children at the school. You’re so distracted by your own thoughts you almost miss (Y/N) introducing a blue mutant to you, recovering quickly you give your big Captain America smile and nod toward the mutant known now as Beast; not long after you follow (Y/N) further into the school meet other of (Y/N)’s friends, this person being Ororo who looks like she is beyond thrilled that (Y/N) is here and you feel a slight pull of panic.

'What if (Y/N) changed her mind and wants to come back here to the school' but your mind is pulled back to the present when you hear a male voice introducing himself to everyone as ‘Professor Xavier’.

You decide it’s in your best interest to focus on the conversations at hand and let your mind wonder later once you’re back at the compound. You find yourself smiling as you look at (Y/N) who is almost glowing under Ororo’s arm, but that quickly fades when you hear Ororo say “Hey (Y/N) why don’t you training with me quick, I was just setting up a simulation and I’m sure you haven’t had a hectic training session since you left the school.”

You and Bucky shout “No!!!” in unison.

You let Bucky continue speaking “(Y/N) got shot on the mission today, she’s in no shape to train right now.”

You see (Y/N) give Bucky a look of irritation; will that be a look that you will get from her once she finds out about your feelings.

But you focus on the conversation and hear the Professor say “I think you underestimate (Y/N) and her skills, please follow me and you’ll see what I mean.”

You all look at each other, but decide to follow the Professor when you see (Y/N) walk through the training room doors; you take a deep breath almost like it’s your last and follow everyone into a room where you could view the simulation training room, which was a huge empty room there in the centre of the room.

You see (Y/N) talking to Ororo with a smile, before you hear Ororo say “Professor, we’re ready when you are.” You feel your stomach knotting as you see a physical simulation appear in the room where (Y/N) is with Ororo and think ‘Please don’t get hurt (Y/N)’.

You catch the Professor’s gaze and you hear his voice in your mind ‘you might just find yourself surprised by (Y/N)’s talent Captain Rogers.’

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	12. Chapter 11

After you close the door of the training room, you walk with Ororo to the middle of the room, you turn to look at her smiling at you and say “Well ‘Storm’ what level were you going for today? And all by yourself no less?”

You almost laugh in a sisterly way as she almost pouts at you and replies “Actually the Professor told me you were coming, so I hoped that we could have a session for old time’s sake.” She looks down slightly not wanting to make eye contact with you, knowing the problems that could ensue with your scent being in the school for too long; since everyone knows that Logan has keener senses than a dog or even a pig.

You look at Ororo and say “It’s you, Beast and the Professor I worry about; because Logan and Remy will be angry about me being here and then leave again, especially you guys trying to hide it from them. Worse off when he comes to blow off steam here, he’s going to catch my scent. Just tell them I tricked you guys, so he doesn’t lose it too much with you guys...”

Ororo has her turn to laugh as she looks at you and states “(Y/N) you really think that Logan and Remy would best Beast, me and the Professor.” You share a laugh with Ororo imagining Logan and Remy getting a lightning bolt shot straight at their ass, for shouting at Storm.

Ororo looks a little more serious after a few minutes and says “(Y/N) are you ready?” you simply nod.

Ororo shouts into the room “Professor, we’re ready when you are.”

You take a quick glance up at the control room and see your team looking at you, though the most striking faces are Bucky and Steve who are looking at you like they’re afraid that you’re going to get hurt.

You turn back to Ororo as the simulation starts becoming real in the room and you quickly say “Ororo just like old times, just two people down.”

You and Ororo smile and as the simulation has completely materialized around you, you get serious and pull out your katana swords and ready yourself and make sure Ororo is okay. Ororo nods at you to indicate she’s ready, so you begin moving slowly, alert to every sound and movement.

Ororo is about to say 'I think the Professor is taking it easy' when a group of mercenaries appear out of nowhere and begin firing their guns at you and Ororo; you charge forward almost dancing, light on your feet distracting the men as Ororo starts brewing a storm and hitting some of the men with lightning or using a strong wind to hit them into trees, cars, light post, etc.

You remember it’s only the first wave and that was around 20 – 25 men; so you know it’s only going to get harder, you feel your stitches pull a little but you know they’ll hold out if Bruce did a good job.

As you and Ororo continue to make your way through simulation you sense something more dangerous and menacing; shit the Professor wouldn’t put a mutant hunting robot in the simulation, but you remember that the system would have to account for future developments of technology to catch mutants, you sigh and think ‘Really Professor, a mutant hunting robot… are you trying to show me off to the Avengers team?’

You hear the Professor laughing gently as he replied in your mind ‘(Y/N) I’m showing them that you are not a gentle flower in battle, I’ve read their minds you haven’t gotten even half the training you used to get when you were with the Xmen. Now pay attention to your surrounding; remember that Storm is counting on you to help her.’

‘Okay Professor’ you think and focus on the simulation.

You look at Ororo and say “Storm I think you need to create some cloud cover for yourself, so you can hide in the sky and watch for my signal, then start a tornado.”

Ororo looks at you and smiles as she states “What day of the week are you going for?”

You give her a broad smile and say “Let’s make it a Tuesday.” 

You know that the Professor is smiling proudly, but your thoughts move to your team that didn’t know all these things about you and you feel a little crappy with yourself for having held back with them; they invited you into their home as part of the family and part of their team.

The Professor was right you needed for them to see you at your truest form in battle right now, and then you would make it right when you got back to the compound; you were so distracted that you didn’t see the huge mutant hunting robot make its way towards you and you’re thankful for telling Storm to hide in the cloud cover.

As the robot reaches you, you move into a stance you haven’t used in over 6 years and you’re sure the Professor is smiling and Storm is feeling a little nostalgic and brace for the impact of the robot’s punch with your katana swords; you block the punch and jump up the robots arm running toward its head as you look up into the cloud cover and lift your right arm up for Storm to start the tornado, the robot trying to grab you with its left arm, but you slice it’s digits off with your swords and jump off the robot back flipping into a crouching position a few metres away from the robot as the tornado winds pick up quickly, you stretch out your arms and allow the winds to lift you as you see the robot losing grip on the floor and starts to get pulled into the tornado that Ororo created.

Timing every move as you pass the robot as it tries to shot you; you defend beautifully and return the attack of the robot with double the strength then it gave, and you keep slicing at the robot while moving so gracefully that it looks like you’re dancing and doing gymnastics at the same time; though it’s so easy with Ororo’s power of manipulating the weather.

With every meeting with the robot in the tornado has it losing more and more parts and eventually the winds have flung all the robot parts you cut off out of the vortex and across the training room floor, finally you move to end it and slice the robot’s head down the middle as Storm gradually slows down the winds for you to get safely back to the ground and sheath your katana swords.

After you land on top of half of the robot’s head you somersault off and land next to Ororo who has landed next to the head.

You look at Ororo and quickly say “I remember now why I loved training with you.” As you gave a hearty laugh.

Ororo laughs and replies “We’re not out of the woods yet, there’s one last session, and you know it’s going to be a challenge now.”

You get a slight twist in your abdomen, which didn’t have anything to do with your bullet wound or this training session with Ororo; but you brush it aside to complete the session and move forward with Ororo before the scene changes and now you can sense that this is really going to hurt.

You turn to Ororo and setup your plan with you saying “Ororo please stay up in the air, heavy cloud cover and give me a Saturday night special.”

Ororo looks at you like you’ve gone mad and says “(Y/N) you can’t be serious, we hadn’t perfected that one before you left, maybe a Thursday would be better.”

But you respond “No Ororo, Saturday night special with all the bells and whistles; trust me please I can do it and you also get to have some fun too.” You give Ororo a reassuring smile and she nods agreeing with your plan, before you come across your next opponents; you snort as you see around a 150 to 200 armed mercenaries ready to take you and Ororo down.

Before you can speak to warn Ororo you push her out the way and get hit by a bullet your left shoulder (being hit by bullets, punches, kicks, etc in the simulation room results in a whole lot of bruising to the body) and you hiss at the pain you feel the pain; Ororo comes to help you but you say “Get in the sky now and start that Saturday night special.”

Ororo nods and flies upwards and you see the heavy dense cloud appear and you release you hidden blades from your forearms and charge at the men who have now begun shooting at you and you start cutting through them, using some bodies as shields and you soon realise you need to let your animal instinct to be released; so Ororo needs to stay a safe distance from you just in case you accidentally hurt her.

You look up and shout at Ororo “Be careful of the monster.” as you release your animal instinct.

You can briefly see Ororo as she nods and disappears behind the clouds again the winds picking up strong then the previous time and you allow the winds to lift you up into the storm that is welling in the simulation and men are also being lifted and soon you are cutting through them within the spiraling of the hurricane conditions Ororo has created; nearly all of the men are dead within a couple of minutes, since the wind speed was faster than before, but you didn’t count something grabbing you and pulling you out of the storm.

You suddenly see two robots instead of one like last time ‘Shit!’ you think and scream “Ororo light those bastards up in the hurricane and increase the wind speed to get these two into the storm.

You hear a loud chap of thunder and see multiple streaks of lightning hitting inside the storm; as the robot that grabbed you smacks you against car and lifts you by your legs and throws you across the room, but you saw that move coming and flip over and land with your feet on ground; you retract your hidden blades and unsheathe your katana swords as you charge towards the robots who are proving be more challenging since you can’t get a hit on either of them, you know that your only hope is to jump into the heavy, strong winds of the hurricane Ororo has made; so you get the robots to follow you backwards toward the storm.

Only one follows ‘I’ll take it’ you think and jump head first into the storm and find yourself slicing through the robot that followed you into the storm quickly, since the second robot keeps trying to grab you and pull you from the storm.

You finally finish off the first robot just like you did the one from the previous fight session, the last robot; however seems to be smarter than the previous two; so you shout at Ororo over the heavy winds “Ororo, charge me up.” raising your katana swords up in the air.

As you spin around in the storm gaining momentum for your next and final attack and you’re not disappointed as Ororo sends waves of lightning at your swords as you allow yourself to be flung out of the storm at the right moment and stab both swords into the robots head and you see the robot malfunction and fall backwards; as you rein in your animal instinct you realise you’re losing consciousness and fall head first toward the floor, blacking out completely as a pair of arms catches you.

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	13. Chapter 12

***Flashback to 8 years ago***

You were sitting on the prep table getting treated for your injuries from the battle you had just got back from when Logan burst through the infirmary doors; a look beyond rage as he stepped in front of you pushing Beast out of the way. Beast stepping further back, especially when Logan got angry like this.

“What the hell happened (Y/N)?!” Logan yelled at you.

You look him in the eyes and said “I did what I had to, to save Remy. I couldn’t let him die just because you didn’t want me in the battle.”

Logan takes a deep breath and replies “So now you’re more worried about what happens to Remy, then what I say you should do? Are you in love with him (Y/N)?”

You look at Logan with complete shock “Logan… I uh… What has that got to do with anything?”

Logan knows you so well that he simply says “You know what (Y/N); I won’t be made a fool of like this. You can go be with Remy if that’s what you want.”

As Logan backs away from you, you find yourself trying to hold onto his hand; but he pulls his hand away from yours and leaves the room as you burst into tears, Beast comes up to you and carries on treating your wounds as you look at the floor.

Beast speaks for a few minutes “You know (Y/N) from the view point I had in battle, Remy was trying to keep you and Logan safe; if you feel something for both men maybe it would be wise to get them in a room and talk it out?”

You look up at Beast, a smile slowly crossing your face as you wiped away your tears. Beast always had an objective insight to everything around him and you were grateful because you were struggling to understand what you were feeling for Remy. You know that you love Logan, but Remy had somehow found a way to sneak into your heart, could you truly love two men at the same time, though.

After Beast finished patching you up, you made your way to the Professor to have a chat; because you needed guidance with your feelings and how to fix this, Remy and Logan had been fighting for almost a year now because somehow Logan couldn’t take Remy’s flirting with me.

You know the Professor would be able to help you; as you knock on the Professor’s door, his voice enters your mind ‘Come in (Y/N), I’ve been expecting you.’

You open the door and find Remy in the Professor’s office, but before you can think about leaving Logan appears behind you and the Professor says “Both of you need to come in.”

You sigh and answer “Yes Professor.”

Logan takes a seat furthest from Remy and you land up sitting smack in the middle of both men, you can make out that Remy is smiling at you earnestly; though when you catch Logan’s eyes looking your way, you can see him seething as he frowns at you and Remy.

“Professor, I am sorry to interrupt your meeting with Remy; but I need to get something sorted out with these two men.” You try to sound very confident, hoping everything will work out as you were hoping.

The Professor says “I know (Y/N) that is why I called all three of you here.” “Tell me, Logan, do you truly love (Y/N)?”

You looked shocked by the Professor’s approach to this matter and turn your gaze to Logan, who is quiet and you think he is not going to answer, which would break your heart. Though it wouldn’t have been the first time since you and Logan had dated on and off for the past 70 years, he was your first and only partner and up until recently you were totally happy with how your relationship had blossomed.

However, you couldn’t explain what happened when Remy arrived at the school, but he was something new and he didn’t mind showing how much he loves you, even with Logan being in the same room.

Logan just looks at the Professor and says “I loved (Y/N) the first moment I saw her in the forest in Canada when she was running from mutant hunters. She practically knocked me right off my feet, quite literally in fact.” Logan finally looks at you and gives you a small smile which you return wholeheartedly.

The Professor than turns to Remy and says “So Remy, you’ve been here a year already. Do you love (Y/N)?”

You watch Logan’s smile faded quicker than an avalanche hurdling down a mountain side. You put your hand on Logan’s in a reassuring manner, which makes him look at you and you try to tell him everything is okay with your eyes.

Remy takes a deep breath and starts “Professor, the first time that I walked into the school and saw (Y/N) helping one of the child’s who had fallen down in the grounds I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. She’s everything I could ever hope to have in my life.”

At this Logan almost growls and gets on his feet, but you turn to pull him back down into his seat; only for him to almost push you off of his arm; you whines slightly and fall to your knees in pain; both Logan and Remy are on either side of you in seconds, Remy’s concern plain on his face and Logan’s anger gone replaced by remorse and sadness.

The Professor looks at the scene in front of him and states “Remy, what were you focused on during the battle today?”

Remy looks at both you and Logan and replies “I know you said I was supposed to make sure that Beast had backup, but I know that Logan and (Y/N) had had a fight earlier this morning and they weren’t fighting like their usual selves; so I was protecting them both from the bad guys.

‘Beast had been right’ you thought and you almost start crying.

Logan looked slightly suspicious at Remy and says “You mean to tell me, you hear what we were fighting about this morning?”  
Remy replies “Yes, I heard everything, but I didn’t want to make things worse so I stayed away and protected you both from a distance.”

The Professor wheeled himself around his desk as Remy and Logan helped you up into your seat and says “(Y/N) how do you feel about both men?”

You know you have to be completely honest because lying to the Professor was not an option. You take a breath and answer “Logan is my first love and always will be, but I have fallen in love with Remy as well. I don’t think I can live without both men in my life.”

You turn to look at Remy, who is giving you a sympathetic look; like he understands, ‘would he really be okay with sharing you with Logan?’ you think. You look at Logan and he looks like you betrayed him by saying what you did.

You look at Logan and say “Logan I don’t love you any less, but can’t you see that I can’t control what I feel and I can’t choose between both of you.”

Remy looks at you ever so sweetly and says “Cher, I would never make you pick between Logan and me. If you love us both equally, then my life just got made.”

The Professor looks toward Logan, almost waiting for him to speak. Logan looks at everyone and lets loose “Am I the only sane person in this room?! (Y/N) I refuse to share you, especially with this asshole.”

You can’t take the fighting anymore and lose it “You know what Logan, Remy who is the supposed ‘asshole’ is the reason you and I are still alive and more than one Xmen saw that; so you know what I’m out of here because I’ve had about enough of your PMS mood swings.”

You turn around and head for the door as Remy says “Wait Cher, don’t leave like this…” whatever else Remy had to say was lost to you right now because you saw red.

You went to your room and took Logan’s bike keys and headed to the garage and stole his bike, heading to a bar in the city; you weren’t much of a drinker but right now you needed alcohol in your system.


	14. Chapter 13

It had been about 6 hours since you had arrived at the bar and you could honestly say, that you were quite literally drunk as a skunk right now; and there was a group of guys (five of them) who had taken it upon themselves to keep you company while you drank. They even bought you drinks saying that they didn’t mind spending money on such a sweet girl who wasn’t any trouble.

After your last drink, you start to feel sick so you head to the ladies toilet and throw up to try and get rid of this horrible feeling; 'Could one of the drinks those guys had bought you be spiked?' you wonder, sinking to your knees and shake your head, willing your mind to think straight; but it just wouldn’t so you get sick again and flush the toilet and wash your hands and splash some water on your face to try and wake yourself up.

Once you get back to the bar, the guys are still there and look thrilled that you came back; they offer to buy you another drink but you decline the offer and ask the bartender to bring you a glass of water. Which you drink quickly and ask for a refill, the group of guys seems to have caught onto the fact that you’re trying to sober up a bit by hydrating; so they order a drink for you and try and force you to drink it, but you hit the drink out of the one guy's hand splashing the guys with the liquor.

Things start to turn a bit ugly and three of the guys in the group grab you while the two other guys try to grab your legs, you shout and scream but no one moves to try and help you; as they‘re carrying you out of the bar you scream again, but you get punched in the face causing you to yell in pain.

‘This can’t be happening you thought, was I really going to be raped all because I wanted an evening to myself to drink my problems back home away?’ you thought.

As the guy who punched tells the guys to hold you down on the ground in the alleyway behind the bar, you thrash around to make life harder for them; expecting them to start hitting you again, you look around to find all of the men have turned their attention to two men at the entrance of the alleyway; though you can’t tell in your drunkenness who they are, not until they speak that is.

“What the hell do you dirt bags think you’re doing to my girlfriend?!” you hear Logan say.

You’re now wondering who is with Logan, ‘who would have Logan called to help find you?’ you wondered.

“If I were you guys I’d back away quickly from the lady before I make you disappear.” You catch Remy saying to the group of guys.

The group of guys start laughing; five against two seems fair in their eyes. So they started stalking toward the entrance of the alleyway trying to intimidate Logan and Remy; those guys should have run while they had a chance, but they’re going to learn a lesson tonight for the trouble they tried to cause.

You crawl over to a corner in the alleyway, as you try to focus on the fight that ensues between the men; though you already know who’s going to win. You’re now losing consciousness, clearly you didn’t get the drug out of your system fast enough, as you’re blacking out you feel two sets of arms grab your arms and you start to thrash around.

“(Y/N)?! What happened, are you okay?” you hear Logan saying, but you can’t respond.

“Cher, tell me what happened, please?” you can hear Remy say to you.

You manage to get your eyes open and try to focus so you can speak coherent sentences; “I think those guys spiked one of the drinks they bought for me.” You say and Logan growls loudly and scoops you up into his arms as Remy searches your pockets and finds Logan’s bike keys.

Logan carries you out of the alleyway as Remy follows, neither of them saying a word; you feel a cold chill and shiver, you keep your eyes closed because your head is hurting so badly, not registering Logan kissing your forehead.

You hear a car door open and open your eyes slightly to see where you are, Remy is holding his passenger door open as Logan gently lowers you into the seat; taking off his jacket and placing over you; as you feel your eyes closing again and you overheard Logan speaking to Remy.

“Remy, get back to the school with (Y/N) and make sure Beast checks her over; I’ll follow in a short while. I just sort out some things here.” Logan says to Remy and you could swear you could sense that Logan was smiling as he said that last part.

“I’ll get her back safely Logan, just be careful old man.” Remy smirks at Logan, as he hands Logan his bike keys.

You hear the passenger door being closed and then the driver’s door open and someone gets in and closes the door. You feel a hand passing over your forehead and you lean into the warmth and sigh in relief.

“It’s okay Cher, I’ll get you home and you’ll be okay.” Remy says to you, and you feel a shiver go up your spine and let yourself drift into the darkness that is fogging up your mind.

It’s not long before you can feel yourself being lifted out the car, but you can’t bring yourself to open your eyelids; you take in the scent of Remy and you lean further into Remy’s chest as he carried you and you’d swear you could hear Remy chuckling softly.

You hear footsteps coming towards you, as you opened your eyes making out Beast, who is looking at you and he places a hand on your forehead and says to Remy “Remy, come with me. I think we can fix this before any permanent damage is done.”

You keep your eyes focused on Remy’s as he carries you down the hall; he gives you his winning smile and you try to return it, but you grimace instead as you feel an intense pain in your abdomen.

“Cher, you alright, you look really sick?” Remy says looking at you with concern.

You look at Beast as he opens the door to the infirmary and Remy rushes in and lies you on one of the beds; you’re almost clawing for Remy’s hand, you don’t want to be left alone right now, so Remy grabs a chair and sits down on the right side of the bed and he holds your right hand in his and gently brushes his left hand through your (Y/L/H) hair.

Beast begins to ask you a couple questions while he takes blood and gives you a medical check up, you answer the questions as best as you can; you see Beast looks really worried, but his concentration is broken when Logan comes barging into the infirmary.

You look at Remy with a look of distress, thinking his going to let go of your hand; but surprisingly he doesn’t. You watch Logan walk over to Beast and hand him a small package and he whispers something into Beast’s ear, once Logan is finished he turns around to walk over to you and pulls up a chair on the left side of the bed and places your left hand in his right hand and smiles at you.

“I’m dreaming... Right...” you say looking at Logan and then at Remy.

They both look at each other, as Remy shifts in his seat to get closer to you.

“Why would you say that sweetheart?”Logan states while still smiling at you.

“Because there is no way the two of you are sitting on either side of me, each holding one of my hands. Those idiots at the bar must have spiked my drinks with me some really awesome drugs...” you state and look at the ceiling and sigh.

“Cher, this is real. I know it’s hard to understand right now, but we’ll talk after Beast has finished helping you.” Remy says and rubs circles on your hand with his thumb, as you look over to where Beast is busy mixing stuff together.

Some time passes in comfortable silence and you’re almost asleep and you hear Logan say “So what’s the verdict Beast?”

“Well (Y/N) will be fine, she just needs a bit of bed rest, I’ll just inject a sedative into (Y/N)’s arm and hopefully tomorrow she’ll be back to her normal self.”

You open your eyes and grumble “I’m always myself...”

Logan, Remy, and Beast laugh together and you looked irritated at them; until you see Beast holding a syringe in his hand, your eyes open wide.

“Beast is this payback for last week when I glued the pages of your favourite book together?” you say, your voice laced with anxiety.

“(Y/N) I would never do this as revenge, I need to make sure that drug gets out of your system as quickly as possible, causing the least amount of damage to you.” Beast replies with a gentle smile.

Both Logan and Remy help you up and are rubbing your back, as Beast takes your right arm; you’re trying to relax while Beast gives you the sedative. After a couple of minutes you start feeling dizzy and you fall back onto the bed ‘Beast really knows how to knock me out’ you think, you hear Logan and Remy shout your name; your eyes are growing heavy and you let the sleepy feeling take over your body and mind.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------

Present Day

“Ah I feel like I’ve been hit by a train...” you say groggily as you open your eyes.

“Well under the circumstances, that is a bit of an understatement.” Beast says as he walks up to you. He checks your vitals and you stay silent until Beast says “Just stay still for a few minutes and then you can try getting up.” You nod and close your eyes again as Beast leaves the room, you start thinking about what happened earlier for you to have lost consciousness in training with Ororo.

Your thoughts are interrupted by three voices shouting your name; you look at the source and see Wanda, Ororo, and Nat looking at you.

“Hey girls, sorry about the scare earlier, I honestly don’t know what came over me; I was fine and then all of a sudden I blacked out.” You say rubbing a hand over your face.

All three women rush over to your bed and sit down, you look at each of them in turn and you’re about to ask them who died; when Nat finally says up.

“Um... Wanda and I finally met Logan and Remy.” She gives you a sympathetic look.

Ororo doesn’t say anything but looks at the floor like it’s the most interesting piece of flooring there is. You’re about to ask Ororo what’s wrong; when suddenly you hear a commotion outside the door of the infirmary, you decide to get up and check what’s going on.

Though before you get to the door, feel Wanda trying to cloud your mind and you’re almost screaming to get her out.

“What the hell are you doing Wanda?!” you scream, holding your head; though still heading toward the door. Suddenly you feel your knees hit the floor as the infirmary door swing open as Beast walks back in and you can make out some sort of a fight breaking outside the door; so you force yourself to stand and stumble over to the door.

Wanda stops using your magic on you since you’re forcibly resisting it, your mind clears just in time to see Logan and Remy trying to attack Bucky and Steve. You run out of the room cutting between the four men; your face is flustered from Wanda’s mind manipulation attempt on you.

“What the hell do you four morons think you’re doing!” you shout.

Everything goes quiet, even the guys don’t dare to say a word. You look at everyone and shake your head.  
“Get to the quinjet right now, I’ll be there in a few minutes.” You stated.

The Avengers knew it wasn’t a request, it was a demand. Ororo offers to show the Avengers out and Bruce, T’Challa, Tony, Clint, Sam, Wanda, Nat, Thor, and Loki start moving to leave but Steve and Bucky are still staring at you with a look of hurt on their faces; you simply point in the direction of the Avengers who are following Ororo, Steve and Bucky sigh and leave to catch up with the group.

You look at Remy and Logan, anger clearly written all over your face as you walk back into the infirmary and close the door behind you; you walk up to Beast who is keeping himself busy.

“So I take it you really wanted out of that situation?” you smirk trying to make the mood a little lighter, especially for Beast’s sake.

“You always were the mother hen at the school.” Beast replied with a sincere smile. “Now let’s do a quick check of your vitals again and then you can get going.”

You nod and sit down on the chair next to Beast. No more words pass between you two, and after Beast is done, you get to up and look at Beast before pulling him into a hug and thanking him for helping you out.

You open the infirmary doors to find that Logan and Remy are still standing there, this isn’t a good sign.


	15. Chapter 14

You turn your back to Logan and Remy as you close the infirmary door behind you and start to walk towards the entrance of the school, heading for the quinjet so you could get away from everything. Though the faster you walked and quicker Logan and Remy walked, unfortunately, they couldn’t walk right next to you because of the binding rings which made you smile on the inside.

“Cher, wait… Please.” Remy says as he tries to force his way closer to you, only to have the force of the binding spell pushes him backward.

“(Y/N) come on, I’m getting tired of this game of yours. Talk to me, we’ve been through so much together so you can’t just walk out like this.” Logan states looks at the back of your head since you won’t even look at him.

As you make it to the entrance doors you catch a glimpse of the quinjet and you make your way forward, still being silent; you know if you speak that it might make things more complicated.

“Cher, you gonna keep ignoring us? Because we still plan on loving you; we know that those rings you wear are to keep us away, so you must still have feelings for us. Let’s just talk about it.” Remy tries to get your attention.

You’re almost at the quinjet now, just a couple more steps and you’ll be fine and you can make out your teams waiting for you on the quinjet, watching you approach and seeing the exchange between Remy, Logan and you.

But as you pick up your pace to get to the quinjet, Logan realises what you’re doing and jumps forward to try and grab you; his pushes himself forward trying to push through the power of the binding spell and rings, just half a metre away from grabbing your arm but he flies back when the spell kicks in; you stop just 3 metres away from the entrance of the quinjet and turn around, as Logan gets back on his feet.

You look at Remy and Logan and say “You both know better than to keep coming after me, I have nothing further to say that the letters I left didn’t cover.”

Logan and Remy both open their mouths to reply, but you lift your hand and carry on speaking “If you both won’t move on; then I’ll force you both to move on. I don’t want to be with you both; you both have no idea what fate and destiny have in store for you if you would give it a chance.”

Logan almost loses it and shouts “You’ll force us to move on?! So is that what you’re doing then? Is that why you joined the Avengers?”

Logan always knew which buttons to press to get your rage flowing sometimes and right now was no exception; you focus your anger into the binding spell and send a strong pulse through the rings which cause Remy and Logan to be flung backwards; you watch as both of them are slammed into the trees by the beginning of the forest around the school. Before either of them get on their feet you turned around and stepped onto the quinjet and close the hanger doors and tell Tony that we take off.

\--------------------------------------------------

You decide to take a seat in the corner keeping to yourself as you cleaned all your weapons; no one daring to come near you, not after everything that had happened before they even landed the quinjet at the school.

You zoned out while cleaning your katana swords, it always felt therapeutic to you and you feel all the tension and anger flowing right out of you with each swipe you make while cleaning the katana blades. As you finished cleaning all your weapons, you see Bruce coming over to you and you know that you can’t lose your temper with him because you know that he is always sweet and quiet; so you look up at him as he gets closer and smile.

“Hey (Y/N), I thought I’d come and let you know that we’re nearly home, we will be landing in 10 – 15 minutes.” Bruce says as he returns your smile.

“Thanks, Bruce, I really appreciate you coming to tell me.” You say trying to keep the conversation going.

“It’s okay (Y/N) you don’t have to force the conversation.” Bruce replies “I know you need space, you don’t have to be social on my account.” As he turns around to head back to the cockpit.

You sigh and put away all your weapons and close your eyes for the remainder of the flight. Once the quinjet lands you open the hanger door and make a beeline for the elevator to get to your room as fast as possible. Though clearly not because Thor, Loki, and T’Challa are beside you as the doors open; so everyone files in but on one says a thing, you feel so uncomfortable with the awkward silence; as the elevator doors open on your floor you step out of the elevator and head for your apartment door and practically rush through the door and lock it behind you.

“FRIDAY?” you call into the air.

“Yes Miss (Y/N)?” FRIDAY responds.

“Please ensure that no one is granted access to my apartment until I give permission.” You state.

“Of course, Miss (Y/N).” Friday replies.

You make your way to your bedroom and slowly start taking off your suit and head to the bathroom to wash all the dirt and muck from the mission and the training session at Xavier’s School for the gifted. You grab a towel from your cupboard and hang it up as you step into the shower and turn the water on, as hot as your body can handle it; once the water temperature is perfect you get under the shower head and let the water run down your body, allowing it to wash all the grime from your body but also to wash away all the emotions you were feeling.

Anger at Wanda for her trying to stop you from finding out that Logan and Remy were fighting with people from your team.  
Frustration that Nat because she had been right about me just staying in the quinjet while the rest of the team handed over the mutants to Professor X.  
Annoyance that Remy and Logan couldn’t just listen to you and kept trying to save the relationship you three had at one stage.  
Irritation at Steve and Bucky for not being the better men and just not engaging with Remy and Logan at Professor X’s school.

After a while you turn off the water and climb out of the shower and dry yourself; wrapping your towel around you and heading to your bedroom, only to find someone sitting on your bed. You sigh and walk to your drawers and take out comfy underwear and pj’s to put on.

“(Y/N) you know you can’t ignore me right.” Nat states as you looks at you.

“Well I can try Nat. I’m not in the mood to talk to anyone right now.” You say and head to the bathroom to get dressed.

Once you walk into your bedroom again, Nat is gone and there’s a note on the bed; so you pick it up and read it:

‘You truly are more stubborn then Steve and Bucky put together sometimes. Love Nat’

You smile a little and throw the note onto your nightstand and proceed to pull back the covers on your bed and crawl under the covers and let yourself drift off to dreamland, ‘Please don’t dream of anything’ you think in your mind; especially after the eventful day you had.


	16. Chapter 15

Bucky’s POV

You had never seen (Y/N) fighting at this level before, maybe at the level of the first simulation; but watching (Y/N) tear through that robot was beyond amazement. (Y/N)’s strategy planning was mind blowing, how did she know what type of attack and defense strategy would handle that kind of impending fight, her movements were precise and almost like she planned choreographed fight moves in her head beforehand.

‘Professor X was right’ you thought and you look over at the Professor who catches your eye and smiles at you, ‘You know Mr. Barnes, (Y/N) is very unique; take a good look at her and I mean at more of analyzing her, you would then be able to see her full potential and capabilities in any given situation.’ You nod in acknowledgment of what the Professor had said and turn back to (Y/N) as the third simulation is about to start, you notice that (Y/N) has stiffened like someone or something has her anxious or frightened.

You focus on what (Y/N) and Ororo are saying to one another.

(Y/N) turns to Ororo and says “Ororo please stay up in the air, heavy cloud cover and give me a Saturday night special.”

You notice Ororo looking at (Y/N) like she’s crazy and Ororo replies “(Y/N) you can’t be serious, we hadn’t perfected that one before you left, maybe a Thursday would be better.”

Now you felt yourself getting worried, why would (Y/N) use a move that wasn’t perfected and could potentially harm her and you hear (Y/N) respond “No Ororo, Saturday night special with all the bells and whistles; trust me please I can do it and you also get to have some fun too.” 

You let your mind think of all the possibilities of why (Y/N) would make a decision like that, then you realize; (Y/N) has a trusting nature with people she is close to, though you noticed from the last simulation that (Y/N) also tended to protect the people she cares about, you focus your mind and eyes on (Y/N) again to see at least 200 men trying to kill her and Ororo.

You watch as (Y/N) pushes Ororo out of the way and almost bolting from the room to (Y/N)’s side as you watch her get hit by a bullet. You turn your attention to the Professor briefly and ask “Professor has (Y/N) been hit for real?”

Professor X looks at you and smiles “No, though she will get a physical bruise from the simulation, but no real shot and blood can be spilled in the training room.”

Your attention is back on the simulation as you hear (Y/N) shouts at Ororo “Get in the sky now and start that Saturday night special.” After a few minutes, you hear (Y/N) again “Be careful of the monster.” And you now wonder what she means, since you had never heard her use those words before in the year you all had fought together.

You watch the rest of the fight in total and utter silence, even your mind has shut down and you almost find yourself shouting at (Y/N) to watch out as one of the robots grabs her and smashes her into a car and throws her. You’re biting the inside of your mouth to keep yourself sane and quiet, so the rest of the team don’t think you’re crazy and you carry on watching what’s left of the fight.

You manage to calm yourself until you hear (Y/N) says to Ororo “Ororo, charge me up.” 'She can’t be serious?' you think ‘Would she really get Ororo to hit her with lightning?’ your suspicion is confirmed when you see (Y/N) raising her swords in the air.

You feel panic consume you and you want to get (Y/N) out of the training room right now, but as your about to move you feel a hand on your shoulder and look to find Wanda’s hand there and she shakes her head at you; you sigh and take in a deep breath and carry on watching.

‘Yes, (Y/N) did it’ you think, as you look back watching the robot falling you notice (Y/N) doesn’t jump off the robot like last time, ‘shit she’s falling’ you realise.

You turn to Loki and shout “Loki she’s going to hit the ground, get her now.” Within a second Loki has disappeared from the control room and appears under (Y/N) and catches her and you take a relieved breath.

You turn to the Professor and say “I hope for everyone’s sake that (Y/N) is fine, you shouldn’t have pushed her that far.” And you turn around and walk out the room to find Ororo telling Loki to follow her to the infirmary, where everyone had met Beast before.

You rush to meet up with Ororo who turns to you and says “(Y/N) should be okay, she’s still breathing.”

That’s good to hear and as you’re about the follow the rest of the Avengers coming filing out to come with you and Loki. You watch as Loki places (Y/N) ever so gently on the bed for Beast to examine her, you want to stay and make sure (Y/N)’s okay; but your thoughts are interrupted when Ororo motions for everyone to step out of the infirmary.

“Sorry about what happened everyone, I should have been more forceful in refusing (Y/N)’s request during the last simulation; especially since it’s been around 6 years since we last trained together.” Ororo looks a little ashamed about what happened and keeps her head toward the floor.

You’re about to speak when Nat steps forward and says “Ororo it’s not your fault that (Y/N) made a decision that turns out to be a double-edged blade for her.”

Nat’s comment really irritates you and you think ‘I would love to show you a double-edged blade.’ but your thoughts are interrupted when Professor X wheel up to the group.

“I would like to apologise for what happened in the training room, I truly believed that (Y/N) had ascended to a higher level of fighting and would have been okay. I was wrong and I am sorry for any distress I may have caused.” Professor Xavier states.

You look at Steve looks like he wants to lose his temper, as he gazes at Professor X, almost like he's trying to rip him apart with his fiery blue eyes.

You look at Professor X and he seems to be distracted for a couple of seconds and turns to Ororo saying “Ororo, please could you stay with our guests until (Y/N) wakes up. I need to get to Cerebro now.” Professor X turns to look at everyone and bids everyone farewell, should he not see them before gets back; some of us nod and others say their goodbyes.

You watch Professor X leave and you think ‘I really hope (Y/N) is okay’, you and the team stand waiting for Beast to come out and tell you that everything was okay. You could feel yourself getting fidgety and annoyed because everyone just stayed quiet; so you take a chance and walk over to Wanda who is standing with Nat and Ororo talking.

“Hey ladies, sorry to interrupt could I borrow Wanda for a minute?” you says looking at Wanda allowing her to read your mind. ‘Wanda, did you see what was going on in (Y/N)’s head when she fall?’ you think as Wanda takes you by the arm and leads you away from the team.

“Look I don’t know what happened to (Y/N), all I know was that she started feeling uneasy between the second and third simulation; she couldn’t direct the feeling to anything specific, so we’re all in the dark right now.” Wanda says and turns around heads to the girls and you go back and stand by Steve who now looks like he’s beyond worried about (Y/N).

After some time you hear footsteps headed in your direction and you look over to Steve and he gives you a nod, but as you’re about to ready yourself for any attacks you hear someone speak.

“Hey Storm! Who the hell does that crap ass ship on the lawn belong to?” Ororo turns around and laughs as she looks at the male voice that made that rude comment.

“Logan, that isn’t very nice of you to talk about our guest’s mode of transport.” Ororo states as you watch her walk up to the guy called Logan.

“Hey Storm, you’re looking good. Did you have a good training session?” another male voice says.

“Remy, I had a pretty cool training session. But I’m surprised to see you both here; I thought you guys said you were heading out ‘hunting’?” Ororo said.

You notice that Ororo has positioned herself in front of the infirmary door and you are now curious to know why.

Ororo looks at everyone and says “Everyone this is Logan better known as Wolverine and Remy better known as Gambit.”

“Logan, Remy this are the Avengers.” Ororo says everyone’s name’s from left to right “This is Steve, Bucky, Tony, T’Challa, Sam, Thor, Loki, Bruce, Clint, Nat, and Wanda.” Ororo turns to look and Logan and Remy and smiles.  
“Okay, so what are the Avengers doing at Xavier’s School?” Logan says; you notice him sizing up the guys in the group so you make yourself look bigger, only to see that Steve saw the same thing as you and follows your lead.

You look as Ororo shifts a little before she speaks “Well they were dropping off some mutants that they have rescued on their way back home, but one of their teams mates got injured; so Beast is just checking them over before they leave.”

‘Why was Ororo being so vague and practically lying to these two guys?’ you thought and now you were feeling suspicious about them.

Ororo quickly turns and asks if Nat and Wanda would like to check on their teammates as Beast steps out the infirmary, they both nods and join Ororo quickly gets them into the infirmary and closes the door harshly.

“So who’s the dumb idiot that got themselves injured on the ‘mission’?” Logan says with a wide smirk on his face.

Now you’ve had about enough of this asshole and step forward and sneer at him shouting “(Y/N) is not an idiot, in fact, I’d bet she’s a damn better fighter than you are.”

You notice Beast out of the corner of your eye shake his head and put his hand to his head.

“What did you just say?!” Logan almost shouts.

You see the guy named Remy also stepping forward, like his going to enter the infirmary room, but Steve beats him to the door and tells him to back off; which seems to piss off both Logan and Remy.

“I said you’re an asshole and that our teammate (Y/N) could beat you in a fight.” You say with pure hate and anger.

“Who the hell do you think you are, coming into our home and calling us names?” Logan shouts and lunges forward to hit you, but you block Logan’s punch easily.

“How long has (Y/N) been on the Avengers team?” Remy asks, with irritation and concern in his voice.

“What’s it to ya kid?” you hear Steve say, in his Brooklyn accent. ‘Shit Steve, not now. We can’t afford to have a fight with these guys in their house. Not with (Y/N) still lying in an infirmary bed.’ You think.

Remy suddenly makes a pole grow from his palm and tries to hit Steve, but Steve blocks and you notice the rest of the guys standing back; not wanting to get involved.

“(Y/N) belongs here in her home with us, not with you jokers.” Remy says with a smirk.  
“Hey, Remy, what’s the bet that (Y/N) got injured because of these two jokers.” Logan says with a smirk as he tilts his head toward Steve and me.

“You two should take the hint and get lose with the rest of your ‘team’ and leave (Y/N) where she can be properly looked after.” Remy states standing up to his full height.

“Oh and you guys know how to look after (Y/N)?” Steve says looking angry at Logan and Remy.

“Actually we do, we’ve been looking after (Y/N) for years before she joined your ‘merry little’ group.” Logan states with an air of arrogance.

“I’ve heard about enough! As soon as (Y/N)’s awake she can tell us what she wants, I’m not going to listen to this bullshit from you two douchebags.” You say and turn around, and start walking away only for Steve to pull you out of the way as Remy tries to hit you with his pole.

When you hear the infirmary doors open, but you don’t see who steps out through the doors; as you and Steve are about to start fighting Logan and Remy.

“What the hell do you four morons think you’re doing!” you hear a voice shout and you see (Y/N) looking at everyone, she looks beyond pissed and you stop dead in your tracks with Steve.

Everything is suddenly really quiet, even the Logan and Remy don’t to say a word; they look like they’ve seen a ghost. You watch (Y/N) shake her head as looks at us; as you watch Logan and Remy you notice their demeanor change completely, the look they both have on their faces it was the same look you have on your face when you look at (Y/N); ‘Could these two be the reason she wore those binding rings?’ you think intently.

“Get to the quinjet right now, I’ll be there in a few minutes.” (Y/N) states and her tone was one of demand; she was deadly serious right now.

You hear Ororo offering to show the everyone from the Avengers out everyone except you and Steve, you feel really hurt with (Y/N)’s completely cold nature, but she doesn’t seem to care right now and you watch as (Y/N) simply points in the direction of the rest Avengers who are following Ororo, you and Steve both sigh and we both leave to catch up with the group.

‘(Y/N) I’m sorry.’ You think, ‘Those two must be the reason, that (Y/N) wears those rings. Seems logical enough and also they were keeping the same distance as Steve and me.’ Your thoughts wandering further and further in your mind, as you got closer to the quinjet.

You take a seat right by the entrance of the quinjet, waiting as patiently as you could for (Y/N) to finally come back; that is if she really wanted to come back to you all. After around 15 minutes you see (Y/N) making her way to the quinjet and your heart almost jumps out of your chest and you get up and move a bit back; you see Logan and Remy following (Y/N) and they look like they’re trying to talk to her.

As (Y/N) gets ever closer to the quinjet, you realise she wants to get on the quinjet in a hurry like she’s running from both guys who are following her. You almost jumped out of the quinjet when you see Logan trying to grab (Y/N) and suddenly Logan and Remy get slammed against the trees.

You hear (Y/N) speak to Remy and Logan “You both know better than to keep coming after me, I have nothing further to say that the letters I left didn’t cover.” “If you both won’t move on; then I’ll force you both to move on. I don’t want to be with you both; you both have no idea what fate and destiny have in store for you if you would give it a chance.”

You watch Logan intently as you pull out a throwing knife just in case he tries to hurt (Y/N) and hear him shout “You’ll force us to move on?! So is that what you’re doing then? Is that why you joined the Avengers?”

Suddenly you’re thrown back by a force and recognise it from the binding rings ‘shit that hurt’ you think and notice that (Y/N) is fuming again and you back further away to get out of her way.

You watch silently as (Y/N) gets on board and she tells Tony ‘we’re ready to take off.’ And the whole flight you watch (Y/N) from the corner of your eye, not wanting to get her angry, but at the same time you feel sad. ‘What had happened in the past for you to run from those two guys?’ you keep wondering, maybe a chat with Wanda later on in the compound would give you more answers.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


	17. Chapter 16

Wanda’s POV

You watched (Y/N) talking to Ororo in the training room; you found yourself feeling a tad bit jealous of (Y/N) and Ororo’s relationship; but you find yourself trying to rationalise with your mind ‘They’ve been friends longer than you, you shouldn’t feel jealous about their friendship.’ You thought and you almost jump when you hear Professor X’s voice speak to you in your head.

‘Wanda, (Y/N) and Ororo have been friends for well over ten years and they have faced many foes together. Your friendship with (Y/N) isn’t in jeopardy; I am allowing this training to happen for you and your team to see (Y/N)’s true skills and talents.’ You look at Professor X and give him a smile and turn your attention back to the training room and watch as the simulations begin.

You are in utter shock at how (Y/N) takes charge and knows exactly what is needed to complete that simulation; it’s like she has a sixth sense about fighting which was incredible to watch.

As the second simulation starts, you managed to creep into (Y/N)’s mind silently so that she hasn’t felt your presence yet; what you see within (Y/N)’s mind is absolutely amazing. (Y/N) always wants to protect the people she cares about, protect as in willing to die to make sure that her loved ones are okay.

Mother hen would be an understatement with (Y/N), it’s something much deeper with her, and you find yourself feeling like (Y/N) is much older than she has let on with the team. You decide that you should leave (Y/N)’s mind before she realises you’ve been there a while and as you look up at (Y/N) you hadn’t realised she was falling until you heard Bucky shout “Loki she’s going to hit the ground, get her now.”

‘Damn what happened?’ and you start feeling guilty that you may have caused (Y/N)’s fall by digging in her mind while she was in the training room. Your thoughts are brought back to the present when you see Bucky rushing out of the control room to go after Ororo, Loki and (Y/N); the rest the team files out with you and you all catch up with them.

Everyone walks in silence behind Loki and Ororo; Steve and Bucky being further back because they both have feelings for (Y/N), but your mind is so overwhelmed by everyone’s thoughts that you find yourself focusing on keeping your mind shut off from them to keep yourself sane.

Once Loki has put (Y/N) on one of the infirmary beds, you and the rest of the team follow Ororo to wait outside the room, while Beast checking (Y/N) over. You walk over to the corner and you notice Nat and Ororo coming over to you, so you smile at them as you listen to Nat and Ororo chat about things they each got to do with (Y/N); your mind drifting and you accidentally slipped into (Y/N)’s mind.

You see what (Y/N) is dreaming about, which changed your body language and facial expression to a look of anger, but it slowly started to ebb while you watched (Y/n)’s memory play out; thank goodness nobody knew where your mind was currently. You feel your mind shift back when you sense that Bucky is thinking about speaking to you and you listen to his thoughts and questions as he approaches Nat, Ororo and you.

“Hey ladies, sorry to interrupt could I borrow Wanda for a minute?” you hear Bucky say and you read his mind ‘Wanda, did you see what was going on in (Y/N)’s head when she fell?’ Bucky asks you in his mind; so you take Bucky by the arm and lead Bucky away from the team.

“Look I don’t know what happened to (Y/N), all I know was that she started feeling uneasy between the second and third simulation; she couldn’t direct the feeling to anything specific, so we’re all in the dark right now.” You say and turn around head back to Nat and Ororo.

‘Hopefully this won’t get any worse.’ You think and you’re about to take a deep breath and relax; when you sense two other people’s minds and you almost choke when you breathe in, you can’t help but want to get into both those people’s minds to know who they are and you manage to get into the first person’s mind 

[‘Dammit! If Logan had been faster we would have gotten to (Y/N) quicker... It’s been nearly six years since we’ve seen her, I miss her so much; all I want is to have her back in my arms.]

‘Shit this is going to be bad’ you think and quickly creep into the other person’s mind just to confirm your suspicions.

[If Remy hadn’t been spotted we could have grabbed (Y/N)... Shit, I can’t take this anymore, the damn woman is still stubborn as ever. Been that way for centuries; being without her is making my life hell, everything I did to make her happy and she just leaves me and Remy.]

‘This is really bad’ you think and you call Nat and Ororo in their minds and they stop talking and listen to you; you keep the connection between the three of you as you say {Ladies, there’s a problem on its way. Logan and Remy are getting closer to us.}

Ororo whispers as the three of you step closer to make the circle smaller “How is that a problem?”

“Um well, (Y/N) told us the reason behind her leaving and she mentioned Remy and Logan. The problem is that two men on our team also have feelings for (Y/N); so we are in a bit of a predicament.” Nat states in a low voice.

Ororo whispers “I’ll try and distract them and as soon as Beast steps out, we can rush into the infirmary and let (Y/N) know.”

You almost jumped when you hear the male voice from your earlier investigating “Hey Storm! Who the hell does that crap ass ship on the lawn belong to?” you watch Ororo turn around and laughs as she looks at the guy learned as Logan.

“Logan, that isn’t very nice of you to talk about our guest’s mode of transport.” Ororo states as you watch her walk up to Logan.

“Hey Storm, you’re looking good. Did you have a good training session?” another male voice says that you recognise as Remy.

“Remy, I had a pretty cool training session. But I’m surprised to see you both here; I thought you guys said you were heading out ‘hunting’?” Ororo said.

You observe as Ororo positions herself in front of the infirmary door.

Ororo looks at everyone and says “Everyone this is Logan better known as Wolverine and Remy better known as Gambit.”

“Logan, Remy this are the Avengers.” Ororo says everyone’s name’s from left to right “This is Steve, Bucky, Tony, T’Challa, Sam, Thor, Loki, Bruce, Clint, Nat, and Wanda.” Ororo turns to look and Logan and Remy and smiles.

“Okay so what are the Avengers doing at Xavier’s School?” Logan says; you watch him sizing up the guys in the group, ‘Please don’t let this be a ‘my cock is bigger than your cock’ fight.’ You almost scream in your head.

You look at Ororo who shifts a little before she speaks “Well they were dropping off some mutants that they have rescued on their way back home, but one of their teams mates got injured; so Beast is just checking them over before they leave.”

Ororo quickly turns and asks if Nat and Wanda would like to check on their teammate as Beast steps out the infirmary, you and Nat both nod and join Ororo quickly rushing to get into the infirmary and close the door harshly.

The three of you almost shriek out (Y/N)’s name when you see she’s awake.

“Hey girls, sorry about the scare earlier, I honestly don’t know what came over me; I was fine and then all of a sudden I blacked out.” (Y/n) says.

Nat, Ororo and you walk over to (Y/N)’s bed and sit down, but your faces couldn’t hide what was really on all of your minds at the moment.

“Um... Wanda and I finally met Logan and Remy.” Nat finally says you’re a bit relieved you didn’t have to say it.

You notice Ororo doesn’t say anything and keeps her eyes on the floor. You’re hoping that Ororo will tell (Y/N) that Logan and Remy are outside the door, but you all hear a commotion outside the doors, ‘Shit (Y/N) can’t find out like this’ you think and you panic.

Before (Y/N) gets near the door, you try to cloud over (Y/N)’s mind; but in your panicked state you land up causing (Y/N) a shit load of pain.

“What the hell are you doing Wanda?!” you hear (Y/N) scream, as she holds her head; but still, makes her way toward the door. ‘Damn it’ you think as you try to rein in your powers, but cause (Y/N) to fall on her knees, you have no choice to cut off your powers from (Y/N) completely, she was too strong right now and you walk her stumble to the door and you just sigh, because you’re sure you know what’s going to happen next.

“What the hell do you four morons think you’re doing!” you hear (Y/N) shout at everyone outside the door.

Everything is dead quiet; no one dares to say a word. Then you feel your heart sink as you hear (Y/N) say “Get to the quinjet right now, I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

You know that when (Y/N) speaks in that tone, it’s not worth arguing unless you wanted your ass handed to you on a silver platter. You, Nat and Ororo get up and walk out of the infirmary and Ororo offers to show the Avengers out you don’t dare look at (Y/N) after mess up you made in the infirmary just now and follow Ororo out to the quinjet.

“Girls I’m so sorry about the mess up I made in the infirmary, I was trying to cloud her mind when I hear them arguing; I panicked and landed up hurting her.” You near tears now, Nat and Ororo both put an arm over your shoulder.

“Wanda, it’s okay; just give (Y/N) her space for now. She will talk to you when she’s ready, I promise; I remember a time where I was still learning to use my powers alongside her fighting style and I accidentally hit her with a strong bolt of lightning, it was a couple of days before she spoke to me; so there is always hope.” Ororo says with a smile.

You hug Ororo, saying goodbye and turn around to climb onto the quinjet a take a seat far from the entrance. ‘I hope Ororo is right.’ You think to yourself, you look down at the floor and sigh.

“Hey kid, what’s up?” you look up and see Clint sitting down next to you.

“It’s nothing, I just messed up badly while I was in the infirmary with (Y/N).” You say, not wanting to give anything else away.

“Why don’t you get some sleep Wanda, I’m sure when you wake up (Y/N) will be okay to chat with you.” Clint says and you nod, put your head back and close your eyes.


	18. Chapter 17

Hoping you don’t dream of anything seemed to work, or maybe it was the fact that your body was so exhausted and your mind had been overworked. You toss and turn in your bed feeling the darkness surround you over and over as you tried to relax, but surrendering yourself to the darkness would mean trusting it to not bring up nightmares from your younger years of life.

Eventually, you give up finding peaceful empty sleep and you open your eyes and sigh, well there’s only one thing that can keep you distracted when you can’t sleep; looking over at the alarm clock on your nightstand you see it’s around 2:00 am in the morning, so you get out of bed and get dressed to head down with your towel in hand to the training room for a few hours.

You enter the training room and you are happy to find it completely empty, ‘Everyone must be tired from the mission.’ You think and throw your towel on the bench by the entrance and head towards the mat to stretch before beginning your workout; after stretching you decide to start with the bike machine to get your heart rate going and then move over to focus on upper body exercises and core work.

Out of the corner of your eye you notice a shadow in the corner of the training room, observing you ‘I hope it’s not Steve or Bucky because right now I can’t deal with that.’ You contemplate. After finishing your last rep, you walk over to grab your towel and get a good look at the person, who turns out to be Loki; which surprises you a little since he never took an active interest in watching anyone on the team practice.

“Hey Loki, can’t sleep?” you state while watching Loki intently.

“Oh I can sleep; I just chose to come down to the training room when I heard you making your way down here. You should really be in bed resting.” Loki says looking at you with intrigued eyes.

“While unfortunately, I don’t have the luxury of being able to sleep most nights and tonight is definitely one of those nights.” You sigh and shift your eyes over to the mat.

Loki looks at you curiously and says “(Y/N) how do you manage to inflict severe damage to your enemy with your throw knives? No matter how many times I see you do it, I am still dumbfounded as to how a mortal like you can manage that level of damage?”

You look at Loki totally shocked, Loki the God of Mischief was asking you for your trademark secret of knife throwing; he must be pulling your leg.

“It took years of practice.” you say with a smirk, which Loki returns, “I tell you what Loki, let's spar together and if you pin me I’ll explain my trick and we’ll even practice it in the shooting area.”

“That sounds like a marvelous idea; so what are the terms of winning the sparring match ‘hatching mortal’?” Loki states with an even evil smirk on his face.

You think for a moment and reply “Hand to hand combat, your opponent must be pinned down for 2 minutes for a win, no magic or illusions. If you win I’ll show you the real trick behind my knife throwing, but if I win you’ll owe me a favour; that I can ask for at any time I feel the need, no questions asked.”

Loki seems a little perturbed by what you wanted if you won; but he brushes it off with his signature smirk and says “Well mortal, you really do believe you’re going to win. How quaint, beating you is going to be kids play.”

‘Oh you’re going to eat those words, God of Mischief.’ You think, and move to the centre of the sparring mat and ready yourself; as Loki does the same, both of you putting on your game faces and get into your starting positions.

Neither of you moves in the first minute, as you both size each other up; but you’re getting a little impatient, so you decide to try an easy enough test to see what Loki does. You charge toward him at full speed, you sense he’s going to swing with his right hand to punch you in the face; so you push forward faster and slide between his legs quickly as his right fist hits the mat and you kick up into his lower back which causes him to lose his balance and stumbles forward as he tries to regain his balance.

Loki turns around to look at you and he looks absolutely pissed as hell; ‘Good’ you think 'You needed a challenge, after the stupid mistakes you made on the mission earlier today.’

You suddenly re-focus and miss being hit by Loki’s left fist by a few centimeters, you somersault backward to give you a bit of space, but Loki isn’t having that and closes the gap quickly. You feel like you’re trapped and you miss an opportunity to land a solid hit on Loki, in your moment of panic and you get kicked in the stomach; Loki then grabs you by the throat and lifts you off the ground your feet beginning to twitch in the air and you start coughing while you try to breathe.

‘Shit I got to fix this now; otherwise, it’ll be over quickly.’ You think; then you have an idea and give Loki a wide smirk which only makes him more irritated and he slams you into mat really hard still keeping his hand around your throat, straddling you to keep you on the mat; causing you lose your breath, but now you could do more.

You keep lifting your shoulders slightly off the mat so Loki doesn’t win, he still believes he can win; so you wait for him to think you’ve spent your energy and he loosens his grip a little; which is what you were waiting for, you keep one leg bent on the mat and use your body to push up to flip Loki onto his back with you on top of him between his legs.

You punch him in the chest causing him to cough and as he tries to turn onto his side, you move with him from above and as he gets onto his hands and knees, you quickly put him in a headlock and wrap your legs around his waist. You feel Loki beginning to panic because he can’t reach you; thank God you were small it made it harder for opponents to grab you and as much as Loki tried he couldn’t get out of that headlock and he falls onto the mat unconscious within a couple of seconds.

You straddled him and waited for him to wake up, which took more than 5 minutes; but when he came too you thought he might lose his temper and storm off, but instead he looks at you and smiles; so you get off of him and get up, offering your hand for him to take and you walk over to the water machine and grab some water for yourself and for Loki.

Offering Loki his water, he takes it and drinks it and looks at you with complete curiosity, you look away and drink your own water.

“So I guess I now owe you a favour.” Loki says and gives you a genuine smile.

“Yip, something like that.” You state “Hopefully I’ll never have to ask you for a favour.” You continue and smile back at him.

“But since you were an awesome sport, I’ll teach you my knife trick.” You say and Loki looks at you like he’s confused.

“I don’t understand, I did not win; so how can you show me your trick?” Loki replies while trying to gauge what your intention was.

“I know I won Loki, but I would still like to show you my trick because you were willing to fight just to learn a trick.” You say looking at Loki like he’s a child.

Loki seems almost amazed at the fact that you would still show him your trick after he lost, but he simply nods at you.

You head towards the bench you left your towel on and grab it and wipe your face and neck of all the sweat from your workout and the sparring match with Loki. You walk back to Loki and proceed towards the shooting area together, stopping by the training weapons to pick up a couple of throw knives to practice on the dummies with.

“This is going to an intriguing experience.” Loki says while giving you a wide smile like it's Christmas.

“Once you know my trick Loki, please keep it to yourself. It took me forever to perfect it and I learned this from one of the masters I trained under quite a few decades ago.” You say quietly, hoping that Loki will understand how important this moment was for you; sharing a part of your past with someone else.

“Your secret will be safe with me (Y/N); I swear it upon my mother’s soul.” Loki explains and you look at Loki and give him a big smile.

As you reach the shooting area, you set up a couple of dummies at different distances for the explanations and demonstrations you were going to give while showing Loki everything you knew about knife throwing.

Once you finished setting up the dummies you turn to Loki and say “You ready?”

“Of course (Y/N), let’s begin.” Loki says, his eyes lighting up with excitement.


	19. Chapter 18

You watch Loki as he makes his attempt at getting the throwing knife to hit deeper on the dummy like you just did; but he wasn’t getting it right, which only made him more irritable.

“This is ridiculous!” Loki shouted and throws the knives on the floor.

You shook your head, smiling at him and respond “It’s not ridiculous Loki, did you listen properly to what I was explaining earlier?”

“I’m not an idiot you stupid mortal!” Loki shouted at you, which caused you to lose you cool and fun nature.

“There is no need for name calling Laufeyson.” You said, “I offered to help you, even though I beat you in our sparring match; now you’re either going to stop acting like a child or I’m going to leave and you can try and figure this all out by yourself.” You very trying to stay calm, what didn't help was Loki refusing to stop his tantrum.

“You’re just toying with me; you never wanted to teach me your trick.” Loki shouts and storms out of the training room as Bucky, Steve, Sam and Thor were walking in.

You just watch Loki walk out and shake your head, you bent down to pick up the knives he had thrown to the floor.

“Morning Lady (Y/N), are you alright? Did my brother hurt you?” Thor asks in concern, as he walked up to you.

“Good morning Thor.” You said with a smile “No Loki didn’t hurt me; I think he’s just a little ticked off because I beat him in a sparring match. Then I offered to teach him how to throw knives like me, but he hasn’t grasped what I was trying to explain and stormed off like a stubborn child.”

“WOW (Y/N) you beat Loki in a fighting match?” you heard Sam say; as you turned around he came up to you and hugged you.

“Well done Lady (Y/N).” Thor bellowed and laughed; you just looked at Thor and laughed as well.

Steve and Bucky were standing a distance away, just like yesterday; but before anyone could say a word FRIDAY’S voice announced: “Nick Fury requests everyone’s presence in the conference room.”

You put the throw knives away and made your way out of the training room with Sam, Thor right behind you and Bucky and Stave a bit further back. You decide you’d rather use the stairs and turn to take the stairs at Sam presses the elevator button.

“Hey (Y/N), where are you going?” Bucky says; you turn to look at him and everyone else.

“I want to take the stairs instead of the elevator; I’ll see everyone in the conference room.” You respond and carry on walking towards the staircase. They don’t need to know that you just wanted some time to think about a few things that were nagging in your mind.

After a few minutes you hear someone approaching and you tense up, but carry on walking.

“(Y/N)! Wait up.” You hear Bucky’s voice and you sigh, though you never slow down; eventually he catches up but has to keep the standard distance as always from the binding rings.

“What do you want Barnes.” You say in a monotone, and keep looking forward.

“I just wanted to talk to you (Y/N); I promise I won’t try flirting or anything to irritate you.” Bucky says hoping you will at least look at him.

“I find that statement hard to believe.” You say and turn to look at Bucky who smiles at you.

“I swear I won’t. I just really wanted to talk to you, like a teammate or friend.” Bucky says and for some reason, you choose to believe him.

“Fine, what do you want to talk about?” you say in a calm manner.

“Well… I wanted to first apologise, for…” Bucky starts but you interrupt him.

“Apologise for what Barnes?” you state and carry on up the flights of stairs.

“Well I wanted to first apologise for what happened on the mission, when I didn’t take the lead like I suppose to; to protect you and secondly for the outburst at Professor X’s school, I shouldn’t have lost my temper like I did.” Bucky walked behind you at a distance and looked at the floor.

“You don’t need to apologise for the first thing, I made the choice and had it been the other way around; I don’t think you would be here to speak to me or to be around Steve and everyone else.” You say with complete and utter sincerity.

“The second thing, however, if you feel the need to apologise I would suggest you call or email Professor X and apologise to him; as the school is his home. Though I’m curious to know why you and Steve were trying to fight Logan and Remy right outside the infirmary doors?” you finished and looked at Bucky who had stopped, you turned around and walked back to him and put your right hand on his left shoulder, which made his head shot up and look you into your eyes.

“In case you’re wondering why…” you said looking at your hand on his shoulder and continued “I can touch you as long as there are no romantic feelings.”

Bucky looked at you and said “Logan asked us ‘who the idiot that got injured was’ and I just lost it, because you literally took down an army of soldiers, got shot and still did a 3 level simulation training session. He was just so arrogant and the thought of him calling you an idiot just pissed me off.”

You looked at Bucky and smiled before replying “Let’s carry on walking and talking.” You turn to continue walking and you continue “Trying to take on Logan and Remy wouldn’t have turned out too well for you.”

“You don’t know that (Y/N), Steve and I could have beaten them.” Bucky saying with the utmost confidence, which causes you to shake your head; he wasn’t seeing the bigger picture.

“Barnes, Logan has Adamantium on his entire skeleton structure, with claws as well; he could cut right through you quickly and he can’t be killed that easily unless you know his weakness. Remy maybe you and Steve could have defeated, but with serious injuries to you as well; he can make objects explode so you’d most probably have lost most of your body before then.” You say in a sombre tone.

You’ve reached the floor where the meeting is taking place and you carry on walking in silence.

“(Y/N) there was something else I wanted to ask… About Logan and Remy, maybe we could talk after the meeting?” Bucky says as you get to the conference room door, you turn and look at him and simply nod your head; ‘This would have happened eventually.’ You thought and walked into the conference room and took a seat between Clint and Nat.

“Welcome Avengers, now let’s get this over with quickly.” Nick Fury says, looking everyone in the eyes.


	20. Chapter 19

“Congratulations on a successful mission everyone; I have to say I’m impressed with the Intel that we managed to secure and the rescue of those mutant youngsters.” Nick continues as we look at him and his eye trails over everyone and stops at you, you silently hope he doesn’t say anything about you.

“(Y/N) a truly outstanding job yesterday, we saw the footage from the base and you really did an amazing job. How’s the bullet wound?” Nick says as he smiles at you.

“It wound is fine, and anyone in my position would have handled that situation just the same or most probably better.” You say and look past Fury at the ceiling above him.

Nick realises you don’t want to talk about the mission and what you did, so he moves on to the other matters so the debriefing is concluded quickly.

As soon as the meeting is finished Tony catches your eye and you follow him outside the conference room and approach him.

“Hey (Y/N), listen this mission came up and I know you’d want to take it.” Tony says as he hands you a folder with all the information, which you take and smile.

“Thanks, Tony, I’m sure it’s just what I need right now.” You reply, hugging Tony and you start walking off.

“Did I hear that right Tony? Why are you sending (Y/N) on a mission especially after everything she’s been through in the last 24 hours?” Steve says you turn to look at him and he looks angry right now.

“Rogers, (Y/N)’s a big girl; she can handle herself.” Tony says to try and give you time to leave, but right now you don’t feel like leaving.

Before Steve can say anything else you jump in “Steve I’m not a child, I’m a grown woman and I can look after myself.”

Steve focuses on you and replies “(Y/N) after what you went through you should give your body time to heal, this mission that Tony handed you is not what you need right now.”

“I think at this point in time, Tony seems to know what I need better than most people on this team do.” You snap at Steve and turn around and walk away running towards the stairs taking them 2 at a time until you’re at your floor and lock yourself in your apartment.

You pick up your phone and text Tony ‘I’ll leave tonight, make sure Happy is ready to take me.’

Tony replies immediately ‘Sure thing, you know you’re really hot when you lose your cool right.’

You smile and send a final response ‘Yeah I know, just make sure no one knows where I am. I’m going to pack.’

You place the folder on your bed, as you pull out a bag from under your bed and open your closet and start packing the things you needed for the couple of days you’d be away from the compound.

Suddenly you hear someone knocking on your apartment door ‘Is it so hard for people to leave me alone, fuck just once I wish I could be left completely alone.’ You think, as you walk towards the door and open it.

Standing in front of you across the corridor is Steve and Bucky and they both look hurt and upset.

“What do you both want?” you ask and walk into your apartment leaving the door open for them to come inside.

“(Y/N) I’m sorry if I misjudged the situation, I’m just really worried about you, we all are; everyone else is just willing to just stay quiet about what they really think, because of you getting angry.” Steve says as he followed you to your bedroom, Bucky behind him.

“Look I know what I’m doing, this mission isn’t anything deadly. I can handle it trust me, if I knew I couldn’t handle it I would say so.” You state while you continue packing.

“How long will you be gone for (Y/N)?” Bucky says, looking a little sad at this point.

“It’s just for a couple of days Barnes, you make it sound like I’m going forever.” You gently laugh and walk up to him and place your hand on his shoulder; just like earlier and he looks at you returning your smile.

“I didn’t forget about you wanting to talk to me; as soon as I’m back we can talk, okay?” you say and move back to your bed to finish packing.

“Oh and Steve I didn’t forget about you joining me for a walk before we got that mission; once I’m back we can go for the walk.” You laugh as you look up and see Steve and Bucky looking at each other with a look of shock and irritation.

“Hey, boys remember I don’t have any romantic feelings; so don’t read too much into me spending a little time with each of you.” You say as you place the last item you needed into the bag; you place the folder into the bag and zip it closed.

“So can you spend a little time with everyone in the common room before you leave?” Steve says trying to keep an impartial facial expression and tone in his voice.

“That should be okay, why don’t we head down; I wanna grab some food since I haven’t had breakfast yet.” You say and usher the guys out of your apartment and lock it behind you.

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Once you get to the kitchen, Steve offers to make you chocolate flapjacks with whipped cream, chocolate shavings, and pecan nuts; so you could relax before you had to leave for your mission. You decide to watch Nascar and F1 channels; since the next competition was starting tomorrow and you wanted to know what the commentators had to say about the drivers, especially since they added a female driver category in Nascar and F1 racing last year, everyone was in the common room even Tony and Bruce who usually hung out in the lab.

You got interested when the commentators mentions Stark Industries on the TV, so you turned up the volume “Yes, Brad I am interested after the fiasco in Monaco a few years back, will Tony let the real drivers show him how it’s done; and I have heard the female driver for Stark Industries will be representing again, it’s unfortunate that no has seen this mystery woman’s face.” The first commentator says.

The second commentator (Brad) nods and adds “Simon, Tony definitely got himself a winning driver on the female racing circuit, hopefully, her looks are a good as her driving.”

At this comment you smirked and laughed, which caught the attention of Bucky, Sam who were watching with you and Steve who just walked into the common room with your breakfast, placing it on the coffee table in front of you and took up a seat on the single couch adjacent to you.

“Thanks, Steve.” You say with a smile and dig in.

“”You’re welcome (Y/N), I hope you enjoy it.” Steve looks at you and smiles.

“I don’t understand why you like this (Y/N); racing is so dangerous and reckless.” Bucky says as he watches you eating and smiles at you “(Y/N) you have some whipped cream on your chin.”

You look at Bucky and stop eating, grabbing a napkin that Steve brought with the cutlery and wipe your chin clean.

“Thanks, Barnes. The reason I watch car racing is because the adrenaline rush from driving fast is an amazing feeling; you should try it sometime.” You say with a smile and carry on eating.

The first commentator on TV continues “Well Brad, since the qualifying time trials only start tomorrow, let’s take a look at the qualifying trials from last year’s race.”

“Simon, I’m sure everyone remembers the amazing driving skills from Stark industries female driver, who managed to outshine their male driver in both F1 and Nascar. Let’s see those clips from last year’s races.” The second commentator says.

You’re completely focused on your food, while everyone turns around to watch Tony’s mystery female driver on TV. As the commentators go through all the clips everyone is quiet, almost in a state of shock; totally gobsmacked at how amazing this driver was.

You finish eating and get up to leave to take your plate and cutlery to the kitchen.

“I can pause the show until you get back (Y/N) if you want.” Bucky says as everyone starts to protest.

“It’ okay Barnes, I already saw it last year; so it’s okay.” You say and leave the common room for the kitchen.

You finished washing the dishes and turn around to find Tony standing by the counter.

“You know, eventually the secret is going to get out (Y/N).” Tony says with a gentle smile.

“Well if you don’t say anything, then no one will know Tony; so let’s leave it at that.” You say and walk back to the common room with Tony.

Nat turns around and says “So Tony who is this amazing secret female driver you have racing for Stark Industries?”  
“Well Nat, unfortunately, that’s classified information that would require you to go on a couple of dates with me and give me plenty of mind-blowing sex; for me to even consider giving you that information.” Tony says with a cocky attitude.

“Keep dreaming Tony, I’ll find out one way or another.” Nat says with pouty lips.

You take a seat on the couch between Wanda and Nat, watching the rest of the show that everyone was interested in seeing now, the guys were even picking their favourite drivers.

The rest of the afternoon was peaceful and chilled, each person doing different things; you just sat quickly watching a bit of a history documentary until the alarm on your phone went off for you to get ready to leave for your mission.

You got up and said goodbye to everyone and left the common room heading toward the elevator and pressed the button. You hear footsteps and turn around to see Bucky and Steve walking up to you but stopping at a certain distance.

“What’s up guys?” you say casually.

“Can I texted you, while you’re on your mission?” Bucky asks looking at you.

“Barnes I won’t be able to take my phone with me; I’ll have a burn phone for emergencies.” You say feeling a little bad for him.

“Just promise you’ll be careful (Y/N).” Steve says as he looks at you with a look of concern.

“I’ll be as careful as you are Rogers.” You say with a smirk on your face, as the elevator doors open and you step inside.

You wave goodbye to them as the doors close, you watch them both walking back to the common room; sighing deeply, you make it back to your room and have a shower before getting dressed in a pair of blue skinny jeans, black tank top, and black sneakers. You grab your leather jacket out of the closet and slide it on before grabbing your bag and heading down to the entrance of the compound to meet up with Happy who would be driving you to the airport.


	21. Chapter 20

Happy got you to the airport in record time, you couldn’t help but smile when he helped you out of the car and got both your bags out of the trunk and boarded the private jet with you that Tony had organised for your mission.

You could count on Happy to get you where you needed to go, without any hassles, once the jet took off, the air hostess asked what you would like to drink and eat.

“I’ll have the fillet with roast baby potatoes and season veggies. To drink please could I get Cane and orange juice.” You say while you dig your burn phone out of your bag and switch it on.

Looking for the seat on the right, you find Happy sleeping; ‘Poor guy.’ You think and get up and drape a blanket over Happy recline the seat for him to sleep comfortably.

The burn phone goes off and you get back to your seat and check it, there’s a text; ‘At this time of the night.’ You wonder who it is, so you open the text and see it’s from Tony.

“Hey (Y/N), I hope you have a safe flight; I’ll be rooting for you tomorrow. Oh and I bet $500 against Sam that you would win, so you better win.”

You laugh to yourself, only Tony could bet money that he was not short of and then still say he has to win. You type a text back.

“Hey Tony, the flight is amazing; I’m going to turn in for the night after dinner. Your ‘better win’ comment is a slap in the face Stark, you know me better than that. Take care and I’ll see everyone in a couple of days.”

You set the phone down as your drink and food arrives; you thank the hostess and dig in while watching an old movie from your collection ‘They call me Trinity’, since you were around when movies first came out you were exposed to different types and you loved old movies for their simplicity and fun comedy.

After the movie finished and a few more drinks, you get up from your seat and head to the back of the jet; where the bedroom and bathroom is situated, those did the trick to relax your body and fuzz your mind.

You closed the door behind you and got changed into boxer shorts and a tank top, climbed under the covers and almost melted right into the sheets ‘These must be Egyptian cotton sheets’ you think and laugh ‘Tony really knew how to treat a woman.’ You shake your head and smile, feeling yourself drifting into a comfortable darkness as you close your eyes.

\-------------------------------------------------------

Flash back to 7 and half years ago

You shift in your sleep, forgetting that you didn’t sleep alone; you were not a stranger to sharing a bed with Logan, but things had changed 6 months ago and now that it had, you had a very different relationship than you ever expected.

Something completely new and well exciting, though many people found it strange; and in all honesty, you didn’t give a rat’s ass what ‘those’ people thought, you were the happiest you’d ever been.

Since Logan and Remy had told you that they wanted to it work between the three of you because they wanted you to be happy; you were on top of the world.

As you opened your eyes and lift your face up, you realise that you were sleeping with your head on Logan’s chest; curled into his side and Remy spooning you. You look out the window and see that it’s still dark outside, ‘How the hell can I not get a full night’s sleep’ you think and sigh, you shiver as Remy shifts behind you.

“Cher, are you alright?” Remy groans his voice heavy with sleep.

“Yeah Remy, I’m okay I guess. Seems sleep doesn’t want to keep me company anymore.” You say with a smirk on your face as you stretch, which makes Remy pull you tighter into him.  


“Well Cher, if you can’t sleep why don’t we have a little fun until sleep decides to come and keep you company again?” Remy says with a mischievous look on his face.

You giggle and turn away from Logan and look at Remy properly and state “Are you trying to insinuate that we should do very sinful things, while Logan is asleep Remy?”

“Well (Y/N) it’s his lose if he’s too old wake up when you move in bed.” He replies as he gently grazes his lips against yours.

The action sends shivers up and down your spine and you feel your breath catch slightly as he smiles at you while keeping eye contact as he kisses you and moves his arms around you to hold right up against his body.

You moan, but the sound is almost muffled when Remy teases you by swiping his tongue sensually across your bottom lip, before plunging his tongue into your mouth and fights for dominance of your mouth; his hands moving up and down your back.

Being dominated was not something you allowed so easily, so you let Remy think he was in complete control and as his body relaxed a little; you suddenly lifted yourself on top of Remy, straddling him not breaking the kiss in that instance and you see Remy’s eyes go wide as his eye meet yours.

A few more minutes and you break the kiss for air, both you and Remy taking deep breaths; his hands tracing patterns up and down your arms, as you smile at him and lie on top of him.

“Love, I think if you’re trying to get sleep to come back, you’re doing a poor job of it.” You state with a devilish smile.

Remy looks at you and rolls you onto your back before you have time to react, grinding his hard cock against your centre and you gasp at the act. You knew how he hated being told he wasn’t doing a job properly; especially when it came to pleasing you; you knew that he was going to show just how good he was.

He crashes his lips against yours, and you moan and wrapping your legs around Remy trying to bring him closer; but he moves away and breaks the kiss which causes you to whine at the loss, he looks at you his eyes completely black and filled with lust and you feel your breathing quicken.

He gives you a quick and sensual kiss before kissing your jaw and down your neck, slowly moving across your collarbone and you’re biting your bottom lip to keep quiet so Logan doesn’t wake up; but your mind is distracted and Remy moves his hands to the hem of your top and swiftly pulls it up and over your head as you yelp, your eyes wide with lust and you almost rip his shirt apart as you pull it over his head.

Remy smiles wickedly at you, knowing that pressing the right buttons would make you go crazy. He moves his hands slowly almost painfully up your torso as you moan unable to hold it in anymore, Remy letting his eyes roam over your expose breasts, the cool air perking your nipples and you grab at Remy’s pajama pants to bring him closer to you.

Remy leans down and takes one of your perked nipples into his mouth as his hand massaged the other, your back arching into Remy and you whine at how good he makes you feel; ‘Shit, Logan is going to wake up at this rate.’ You think and you try to control your breathing and focus your mind, so you don’t wake Logan.

Remy beginnings kissing down your torso and you feel shivers going down your spine, your body reacting to each kiss like it’s a shock straight to your system and you can feel your core getting excited; your body knowing exactly what was going to happen.

You lace your fingers in Remy’s hair as he makes his way just past your belly button and stopping when he gets to your panties, he keeps eye contact with you and he grabs the waistband of your pants with his teeth and you put both your hands over your mouth to stop yourself from yelping, as Remy slowly pulls them down your legs and throws them across the room and lowers himself between your legs and kisses along your thighs making his way to your core and you can feel your heart rate increase and your breath hitching.

Remy keeps his eyes on you as your head drops back onto the pillow, your hands shooting into Remy’s hair and you let out a moan as he licks up your folds and he moans in response feeling how wet you were for him; he sucks on your clit causing you to thrust your hips up into his face, you feel his hands grab your hips, as he holds you down chuckling as he resumes his ministrations on your wet pussy.

You bite down on your hand to try and stay quiet, but it’s getting harder as Remy increases his ministrations with his tongue; but you lose all sense of control as he plunges two fingers into your wet pussy, causing you to almost scream in pleasure and you move your hand from your mouth and grab Remy’s hair with both hands trying to pull him closer to you.

So lost in the pleasure that Remy is giving you, your eyes closed enjoying every thrust of his fingers inside of you and his tongue driving you insane as he sucks and nips at your clit, causing moans and profanities to flow run out of your mouth.

You suddenly feel another pair of hands graze over your breasts and your eyes shoot open; you’re met by a pair of lust filled eyes, Logan smirking at you.

“So baby, you thought you could have fun without me.” Logan states, while looking at you attentively.

You’re about to answer when you feel Remy laugh against your clit, sending vibrations through your core; which causes you to scream as you fall apart, but Logan outs off your scream of pleasure as he crashes his lips against yours, his hands flicking and pinching your nipples; helping Remy prolong your orgasm as you rode out that wave of pleasure, Remy lapping up all your juices.

As you come down from your high you feel Remy kissing your clit as he gets up and Logan pulls out of the kiss. You see Remy licking his lips as he moves up your body and kisses you and you taste yourself on Remy’s tongue and lips and moan again.

“Sweetheart, this is far from over; did you really think I wouldn’t know that Remy and you were playing while I was sleeping?” Logan says with a wicked smile looking at you like you were his prey. Remy kissing and licking your earlobe, trailing his fingers over your hips; as Logan took off his clothes and moving closer to you.

Remy moves away and pulls off the bed to remove his pajama pant, you feel excitement ripping through your body with anticipation as Logan climbs on top of you kissing slowly up your body.

‘Damn it, they are going to drive me insane.’ You think as you feel your body shudder in excitement.


	22. Chapter 21

Logan’s kisses are always ticklish because of the scruff on his face, sending shivers up your back and making you shift slightly.

You try keeping eye contact with Logan as he reaches your neck and you feel yourself automatically tilting your head to the side to give him better access to your neck, as he sucks and licks up your neck leaving deep bruises on the way bringing little moans out of your mouth.

Find yourself getting more turned on watching Remy stroke his throbbing hard cock with his hand, keeping one hand on the bed to keep himself steady; seeing that makes you’re a face flush a deep crimson, but your attention is brought back to Logan when you hear him chuckle as he sits back on his heels.

“Sweetheart, we haven’t even started with you and you already look like you’re done.” Logan states with a devilish smile, as his hands move down your torso; your body shivering as Remy moved closer to you both on the bed.

Logan lifts your legs over his shoulders as he kisses along your thigh getting closer to your core, which is throbbing with heat and want; how do these two manage to make you want so badly, you just couldn’t understand, but you knew you always wanted them no matter what.

You let out a whine as Logan gently grazes your core with his scruff and kisses your clit making your hips gyrate towards his face, wanting more as Remy kisses you parting your lips with ease; you pull away from Remy as you suck in a deep breath as Logan sinks his tongue into your core, licking up and down slowly, savouring the taste of you.

Trembling in Logan’s hands as he holds you down on the bed, you reach out your right hand and grab Logan’s hair pulling him closer to you.

Remy attacking your mouth again and his playing with your breast while his keeps himself up on one hand, but he doesn’t notice your left-hand snake its way towards his throbbing cock, slipping your hand around his hard member, gently applying pressure and moving your fingers over the head feeling the precum on the tip.

Remy moans into your mouth causing your core to pulse and Logan to growl into your core, making your back arch; and you use rub your fingers with the precum and resume wrapping your hand around Remy’s cock, him sucking in a breath as your fingers put a slight pressure and you move your hand up and down his hard shaft, you feel yourself smile wickedly at Remy; as you feel Remy losing control, thrusting into your hand.

Logan notices that Remy losing himself, decides to take back control and thrusts two fingers into your already wet pussy; wiping the smile right off your face and replacing it with a pure look of pleasure.

“Now, now sweetheart; that’s not how it’s working.” Logan says as he sinks back down and sucks on your swollen clit and his fingers pump in and out of you, your moans and whining increasing as your hips moving to meet the thrusts of Logan’s fingers.

Remy kisses you deeply and passionately, muffling your moans and whimpering, his hand massaging your hardened nipples; moving down your jaw, leaving bruises just like Logan had as he gets closer to your breasts, taking one nipple into his mouth and his hand massaging your other nipple.

As you feel yourself getting closer to your second orgasm, Logan removes his fingers and plunges his tongue into your core and thrusts his tongue in and out of you; you moan into Remy’s mouth as you arch your back off the bed.

Logan increases his pace and rhythm with his tongue, and you feel yourself beginning to fall apart; losing complete control of yourself, you gasp as you feel Logan dip the two fingers he had in your core into your ass, as he brushes his other hand over your swollen clit; at the same time Remy bites your nipple and pinches the other one, sending you right over the edge as your orgasm crashes over you.

Logan and Remy not letting up on their ministrations as you ride out your orgasm, your body arching and shivering with each pulse in your core. You feel Remy lying down on the mattress, as Logan slowly removes his fingers from your ass and lifts you up to lie you down on top of Remy, your back against Remy’s chest as his hands snake your body drawing more shivers out of you.

Logan kissing sensually and passionately his hands tracing patterns over your torso, as Remy snakes his hand your body and towards his hard cock, rubbing his cock with your juices, lining himself up and slowly sinking himself into your ass; drawing a porn worthy moan out of your mouth with Logan biting your lower lip gently and his hands massage your breasts increasing your pleasure as Remy sheaths himself completely into you.

“It’s okay sweetheart, it’s going to be so good just now.” Logan says as his hands move down to your pulsing core.

“Please Logan, I need more.” You whine, Remy gasping as you clench your lower body muscles.

Logan kisses you as he aligns himself with your core, Remy moving his hands over your breasts and down towards your legs, lifting them up and apart for Logan to get better access; since he still hadn’t moved inside you. Logan makes eye contact with you as he pushes inside of you, you feel the air leaving your lungs, as you feel yourself becoming completely and utterly filled.

“God… Logan… Remy, I love you both so much.” You say, trying to focus on your breathing.

Remy kissing your shoulder and neck, as Logan is fully sheathed in your hot pussy.

All three of you moaning at the sensation of you; deep gasps coming out of Remy and Logan, as you clench your muscles and roll your hips.

“Cher, you’re going to drive us crazy if you do that.” Remy whispers in your ear.

You smile at Logan, your eyes wide with lust and passion; Logan kisses you and starts to move out of you and thrusts back in, Remy catching on begins moving as well. Logan and Remy reveling in all the moans and whines leaving your mouth, your body trembling, overwhelmed with the sensations of Remy and Logan moving inside of you; making you feel so complete and whole.

Remy and Logan set the perfect rhythm and pace between them for you; Remy lifts your knees closer to your chest opening you up more for Logan and him to reach deeper inside of you.

You can feel yourself getting closer and closer to the edge again; Remy and Logan picking up speed and deepening their thrusts, as you clench around their throbbing hard cocks.

“Ah, Remy… Logan… I… I’m gonna… SHIT!!!! I’m gonna cum…” you almost scream as you feel yourself near the edge.

Remy moves his hand down your body and rubs your swollen, sensitive clit; causing you fall right over the edge as your orgasm washes right over you as your body convulses in pure pleasure; sending Remy and Logan over the edge to their orgasms together, filling you with their hot, warm seed.

The three of you riding out your orgasms; after a few minutes Logan and Remy slowly unsheathe themselves from you and you gasp at the loss of them, Logan gently lifting you up, kissing you and then placing you next to Remy on the bed.

You turn onto your side facing Remy and kiss him on his cheek as he smiles at you; Logan shifting up behind you and putting his arms around you.

“You both definitely know how to make a woman feel so good.” You say, as you yawn.

“Well Cher, we love making you happy.” Remy says kissing you.

“Sweetheart, you make us so happy; please don’t ever leave us. Okay?” Logan states slowly trailing kissing on your shoulder and neck.

“I won’t leave, I promise.” You reply, your eye drooping as your mind starts going fuzzy with sleep.

“Cher, go to sleep. We’ll be right here always.” Remy whispers and kisses your forehead.


	23. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm not personally familiar with Nascar and F1 racing rules, so for the stories stake I'm just going with what sounds right.

Present Day

You wake up with an exasperated sigh, rubbing your hands over your face ‘This has got to stop.’ you think; getting out of bed and heading to the bathroom to freshen up for the day.

Having changed into a different set of clothes, you zip up your bag and leave it on the bed; you pick up your burn phone and check for any messages and you hear a knock at the door.

“Yes?” you say.

“Morning (Y/N), we should be landing in the next 45 minutes; what can I get you for breakfast?” Happy replies from the other side of the door.

You walk to the door and open it, seeing Happy smiling at you; returning his smile you step out of the room and head to your seat.

“I’ll have a toasted egg, bacon and cheese sandwich with a glass of apple juice.” You say to the hostess, as Happy sits near you.

The hostess smiles and heads off to get your breakfast ready.

“So Happy, enlighten me as to how everything is going to go down.” You say; looking at Happy with a huge smile plastered on your face.

Happy goes into detail about what will happen when you land at the airport, what transportation is waiting, which hotel you’re both staying at, and how you’ll get to your destination each day for the next couple of days.

By the time Happy is finished explaining everything, your breakfast arrives and you dig in before the pilot announces his decent with the jet. Once you finish eating, the hostess takes everything away as you hear the pilot announcing that we’ll arrive at the airport in the next 10 – 15 minutes.

“Alright Happy let’s make things a quick move.” You state, watching Happy smile at you and nodding once.

After the jet lands, Happy gets you off the jet and into a limo with heavily tilted windows; at least no one will know you’re inside. Happy gets you to the hotel in record time, parking the limo by a secret entrance at are only used by a select few.

Once you’re in your hotel room, your burn phone goes off and you answer.

“Hello?” you say

“Hey (Y/N) are you at the hotel yet?” Tony asks you.

“Yeah, Happy is a dream to have to deal with these sticky situations of being covert.” You laugh, taking a seat on the couch in the lounge.

“It sounds like you’re ready to have fun on this mission.” Tony states with a laugh.

“Hell yeah, I am so ready for this. I can’t wait to get started; Tony just make sure no one suspects anything.” You say, getting up from the couch; having seen Happy indicating that you needed to leave.

“Not a problem sweet cakes.” Tony says with smug manner.

“Tony, I got to go; I’m heading to the destination now. Take care of everyone while I’m away and no teasing Barnes when he doesn’t understand modern day references.” You get in before Tony can interrupt you.

“Alright sweet cakes, you have fun. I can’t promise about Frosty, he just makes it so easy for me.” Tony laughs and chimes in as you are about to protest “Bye (Y/N), BYE….” As Tony ends the call.

Happy leads you, through the secret passages in the hotel and gets you into the limo and heads to your destination.

After about 20 minutes you arrive at the destination, with Happy feeling excited as he pulls into the isolated parking lot.

“(Y/N) I’m so excited to watch you driver for Stark industries again this year.” Happy states; smiling through the rear view mirror at you.

“I’m totally thrilled to be back again Happy, cause I really needed this right now.” You say returning Happy’s smile.

“So let’s get you into the dressing room without anyone seeing anything.” Happy says, getting out of the driver’s seat and closing the door and checking around for any people in the immediate area. Once he’s sure everything is clear he comes to your door and helps you out and swiftly gets you to your changing room to get dressed.

Being as secretive as you are, you didn’t want anyone to know that you were Tony’s female driver for Nascar and F1; as it may cause arguments and conflicts especially with certain people in the team. For you this was a holiday, you love driving fast cars and you absolutely love the speed on the track; it helped make your senses and instincts sharper, having to think how other drivers will move on the track at any given moment.

You could hear people arriving in the building, so you put your helmet on in your room; just in case anyone walked in. After about 15 minutes Happy comes in after knocking and says that you’re up first; ‘Perfect’ you think ‘I’ll set the pace and be out of here while everyone is distracted with beating my lap time.’

You head out to your car and get into the car, making your way to the starting line. You watch the lights counting you down, your hand itchy to get the warm up lane done; so you can set your lap time.

As the lights turn green you pull off in record time, your car pushing forward with every slam of your foot after each gear change, speeding around the track at neck breaking speed; you completely ignore the cameras and photographer on the stands, focusing on the feel of the speed and how relaxed and peaceful you feel.

You finish the warm-up lane and keep your speed consistent as you move through the track quickly, making no mistakes; breaking the previous lap record time that you set last year. You slow down and come to a complete stop by your pit crew, getting out of your car, the crew all howl and whistle coming to shake your hand, and cheer you on.

You notice the other female drivers giving you death stares and you simply wave at them, not removing your helmet. You make it to your dressing room and find Happy waiting with a bottle of water for you, which you take and shut the door quickly.

Getting changed doesn’t take long, you ensure the sunglasses and scarf you’re wearing covers your face and features, your clothes also hiding your figure and shape. You open the door and Happy escorts you to the limo and heads back to the hotel; making sure no one is following.

“(Y/N) you had me totally stunned with the lap time. You really out did yourself this year and you’re setting the bar high.” Happy says with absolute brotherly affection since he also loves fast cars and driving.

“Well hopefully, I’ll have a challenge this year; those girls driving is like watching them have a tea party. It’s embarrassing driving against a woman who doesn't take this sport seriously.” You state looking at Happy through the rear view mirror.

Happy smiles and leaves you to your thoughts; you get a text on the burn phone. Opening the message you find yourself laughing.  
‘Hey sweet cakes, everyone is going berserk at the compound over your lap time. I can see you’re enjoying yourself, just make sure you don’t hurt yourself. Tony’

You reply 'Yes dad, I know I need to be careful.'

Tony responds ‘If only I were your daddy sweet cakes XD’

You shake your head and type 'Keep dreaming pervert billionaire :) Now go find something to fix.'

Once you get back to your hotel room, you have a relaxing shower and change into comfy pyjamas and decide to watch a movie ‘G.I. Jane’ this movie always brought back memories of when you pretended to be a man, to fight in the wars over the years; you fall into comfortable sleep around half way through the movie.


	24. Chapter 23

Bucky’s POV

You hear Steve and Tony arguing, but you’re not sure what’s about; all of a sudden you hear (Y/N) almost shouting, shouting at Steve; you shake your head and leave the conference room to find (Y/N) running for the stairs and Steve turning to Tony.

“What the hell Tony!” Steve shouts “You’re such an idiot, for sending (Y/N) out on a mission.”

“Seriously Cap, you’re going to give me shit; when everyone knows that if a mission came up that we were all needed on you wouldn’t hesitate to put (Y/N) on the mission.” Tony yells back at Steve.

“Tony, why didn’t you assign someone to partner with (Y/N) on the mission?” you can’t help but ask.

“Look Frosty, this mission is a very simple one that (Y/N) could do in her sleep; could you guys have a bit more faith.” Tony says as he walks off toward the elevator.

You see Steve rubbing his forehead and sighing; being best friends with Steve Rogers required an understanding of his body language, and that act right there was one of a man who is irritated but mainly concerned for another person besides himself.

“Care to explain Steve?” you say with a smile.

“Bucky, I’m not comfortable letting (Y/N) go on that mission by herself, she’s hardly had any sleep since we got back last night.” Steve says almost exasperated.

“Well I think that you should explain yourself to (Y/N) then because it sounded like you were saying she couldn’t handle it.” You explain to Steve, whose eyes have gone wide with shock.

“Shit… Just what I wanted to do, God sometimes I can be such a moron…” Steve says sighing and looking at the floor and rubbing his neck.

“Let’s go talk to (Y/N) than punk.” You say with a smirk.

“Damn jerk… come on, let’s go save my ass.” Steve says as he grabs you by the shoulder and you both walk to the elevator.

Once you both get to (Y/N)’s apartment door, you look at Steve and gesture with your hand for Steve to knock; which he does after taking a deep breath.

You both wait patiently, hoping that (Y/N) will answer the door, but something is bugging you, what if you ‘saving’ Steve’s ass would make (Y/N) want to be with Steve instead of you at some point in the future. You push that thought out of your head when you hear (Y/N)’s door opening.

“What do you both want?” (Y/N) says; you watch as (Y/N) walks into her apartment, leaving the door open for us to go inside.

“(Y/N) I’m sorry if I misjudged the situation, I’m just really worried about you, we all are; everyone else is just willing to just stay quiet about what they really think, because of you getting angry.” Steve says as he followed you to your bedroom, you follow behind Steve.

“Look I know what I’m doing, this mission isn’t anything deadly. I can handle it trust me, if I knew I couldn’t handle it I would say so.” You state while you continue packing.

“How long will you be gone for (Y/N)?” you ask, feeling a little gloomy at this point.

“It’s just for a couple of days Barnes, you make it sound like I’m going forever.” (Y/N) says and gently laughs, she walks up to me and place her hand on my shoulder, and I feeling like my heart is going to jump right out of my throat.

“I didn’t forget about you wanting to talk to me; as soon as I’m back we can talk, okay?” (Y/N) says and you watch her move back to her bed to finish packing.

“Oh and Steve I didn’t forget about you joining me for a walk before we got that mission; once I’m back we can go for the walk.” (Y/N) says and you turn to look at Steve

‘What the hell!’ Steve knows you have liked (Y/N) for a long time.’ You think, feeling irritated that Steve was trying to make a move on (Y/N).

Your attention is brought back to the present when you hear (Y/N) laugh.

“Hey, boys remember I don’t have any romantic feelings; so don’t read too much into me spending a little time with each of you.” (Y/N) says as finishes packing and closes her bag.

“So can you spend a little time with everyone in the common room before you leave?” Steve says trying to keep an impartial facial expression and tone in his voice.

“That should be okay, why don’t we head down; I wanna grab some food since I haven’t had breakfast yet.” (Y/N) says and she ushers us out of her apartment.

Once we get down to the kitchen, Steve offers to make (Y/N) breakfast; which she accepts ‘Damn it’ you think ‘Maybe I should learn to cook, so I can cook something nice for (Y/N)’  
You walk into the common room and take a seat at the end of the couch that (Y/N) is sitting on, you watch with intrigue as she flicks through the TV channels and stops on car racing; ‘I didn’t realise she enjoys that.’ You ponder ‘Well maybe I should spend a little more time getting to know what she likes watching.’

So you focus your attention on the TV to see what it’s all about.

The commentators mention Stark Industries on the TV, which gets your attention “Yes, Brad I am interested after the fiasco in Monaco a few years back, will Tony let the real drivers show him how it’s done; and I have heard the female driver for Stark Industries will be representing again, it’s unfortunate that no has seen this mystery woman’s face.” The first commentator says.

The second commentator (Brad) nods and adds “Simon, Tony definitely got himself a winning driver on the female racing circuit, hopefully, her looks are a good as her driving.” you notice (Y/N) smirking when you commentator made that comment.

Just as you’re about to ask (Y/N) why she’s smirking, Steve comes into the common room with (Y/N)’s breakfast.

“Thanks, Steve.” (Y/N) says with a smile and dig in.

“You’re welcome (Y/N), I hope you enjoy it.” Steve looks at you and smiles. You feel a pang of jealousy towards your best friend.

“I don’t understand why you like this (Y/N); racing is so dangerous and reckless.” You state while watching (Y/N) eating her breakfast and you find yourself smiling “(Y/N) you have some whipped cream on your chin.”

You watch as (Y/N) wipes her face clean.

“Thanks, Barnes. The reason I watch car racing is because the adrenaline rush from driving fast is an amazing feeling; you should try it sometime.” (Y/N) says with a smile and carries on eating.

You turn your attention back to the TV as the first commentator continues “Well Brad, since the qualifying time trials only start tomorrow, let’s take a look at the qualifying trials from last year’s race.”

“Simon, I’m sure everyone remembers the amazing driving skills from Stark industries female driver, who managed to outshine their male driver in both F1 and Nascar. Let’s see those clips from last year’s races.” The second commentator says.

As the clips are shown from last year’s race in the female division, you are mesmerized by Tony’s female driver, her skills are unmatched in every way; it’s hypnotic to watch and you find yourself wanting to watch more of this driver.

You notice (Y/N) getting up with her empty plate and you ask “I can pause the show until you get back (Y/N), if you want.” Which causes the other to protest, but they go silent after they catch your death stare.

“It’ okay Barnes, I already saw it last year; so it’s okay.” (Y/N) states with a smile and leaves the common room.  


You notice Tony walk out of the common room, but choose to ignore it; focusing back on the TV. After a couple of minutes and turn your attention back to the entrance of the common room as (Y/N) and Tony walk in. 

Nat says “So Tony who is this amazing secret female driver you have racing for Stark Industries?”

You find yourself also curious to know who this amazing female driver is as well.

“Well Nat, unfortunately, that’s classified information that would require you to go on a couple of dates with me and give me plenty of mind-blowing sex; for me to even consider giving you that information.” Tony says with a cocky attitude.

You feel somewhat irritated by Tony’s answer, but then again he was always kept things to himself when it was necessary.

You turn your attention back to the TV for the remainder of the show, with everyone starting to explain who they were rooting for; you decided to stay out of the bet, but in your mind you knew who you would bet on; Tony’s driver was definitely worth every penny.

After the show ended you decided to grab a book and read a little to try and calm your mind, knowing that (Y/N) would be leaving for her mission.

You see (Y/N) getting up from the couch and saying goodbye to everyone and you wave goodbye to her.

You notice Steve getting up and leaving the common room, so you follow and catch up with him; you know that Steve would never do anything to hurt you, but right now you felt a little insecure.

“What’s up guys?” (Y/N) says as she turns around to look at you and Steve.

“Can I texted you, while you’re on your mission?” you ask looking at (Y/N) with a smile.

“Barnes I won’t be able to take my phone with me; I’ll have a burn phone for emergencies.” (Y/N) says, and you feel a little sad, but you understand a mission is a mission.

“Just promise you’ll be careful (Y/N).” Steve says as he looks at (Y/N) with a look of concern.

“I’ll be as careful as you are Rogers.” (Y/N) says with a smirk on her face, as the elevator doors open and she steps inside.

You watch (Y/N) for a minute and wave at her as the doors close, you and Steve turn around and head back to the common room, but instead of returning to the couch with your book, you walk out onto the balcony outside and look out as the sun is almost set; sighing and rubbing your neck.

‘How was I going to be okay, knowing that (Y/N) was out on a mission by herself with no one to back her up if anything went wrong?’ you think as you place your hands on the railing. You stay on the balcony a quite some time trying to convince yourself that (Y/N) would be okay, when you see (Y/N) walking out of the compound heading towards Happy, Tony’s driver ‘That’s really strange, why would Tony’s driver be taking (Y/N) to her mission’ you wonder, and you feel like you need to do a bit of Intel digging to find out what this mission is really about.

\----------------------------------------

Nat’s POV

You and Wanda are sitting on the couch in the common room, you’re still felt bad for Wanda who was upset with herself for the mess up with (Y/N); no matter how much you tried to reassure her, she was still angry with herself.

“Wanda, come on it was an accident and I’m sure (Y/N) doesn’t hate you.” You say soothing Wanda.

“(Y/N) hasn’t said one word to me since we got back, now Tony is sending her on a mission; so there is no way that everything will be okay.” Wanda says looking at her hands.

Moving closer to Wanda you put a hand over hers and give her a hug when she looks up, which she returns and sighs into your shoulder.

You turn at the sound of footsteps and are surprised to see (Y/N) walking in with Bucky, ‘Well shit that’s new’ you think, turning to make eye contact with Wanda with a cocked eyebrow.

Wanda simply shakes her head and whispers “Nothing romantic, she’s just trying to be friendly with him and Steve.”

The conversation is cut short, when Bucky and (Y/N) join you guys on the couches; watching as (Y/N) flips through the channels and landing on the racing channel.

Last year was the same thing, at this time; (Y/N) will always switch over to the racing channel to watch the commentary on the racing. You decide to watch the channel, what surprises you most is that Tony has his company involved in these races; Tony hadn’t mentioned anything about it to the team, but then again it’s Tony’s money anyway.

You turn your attention back to the TV, but you turn when you hear Bucky asking (Y/N) why she like to watch racing; but her response isn’t what gets your attention, what really gets you is the smirk that had been on her face for a couple of seconds until she started eating the food that Steve had brought her.

(Y/N) only ever had that smirk when she found a comment made about her funny; especially when people didn’t know that they were talking about her.

‘No way, (Y/N) wouldn’t be car racing… It’s impossible; I would have found that out already.’ You think.

You decide to let it slide for now since the whole team is now intrigued about Tony’s female driver and is watching the clips from last year’s races; ‘This driver is freaking amazing; those driving skills are just breathtaking, so fluid and perfectly timed.’ You think to yourself, as you turn to say something to Tony; you notice that (Y/N) and Tony are not in the common room.

After a couple of minutes you hear footsteps and turn around “So Tony who is this amazing secret female driver you have racing for Stark Industries?” you say smiling innocently.

“Well Nat, unfortunately, that’s classified information that would require you to go on a couple of dates with me and plenty of mind-blowing sex; for me to even consider giving you that information.” Tony says with a cocky attitude.

“Keep dreaming Tony, I’ll find out one way or another.” you say with pouty lips.

You watch (Y/N) take a seat on the couch between you and Wanda, and watch the rest of the show; the guys were really getting into the racing, so much so that they were even betting and picking their favourite drivers.

After the show finished, everyone moved into different sections in the common room, enjoying each others company; you and Wanda stay on the couch with (Y/N) in comfortable silence, while (Y/N) was watching a bit of a history documentary.

You hear (Y/N)’ alarm going off on her phone, you know she has to get ready to leave now. So you get up with Wanda to say goodbye, as you hug (Y/N) tightly you whisper “Take care of yourself, and please be careful.”

(Y/N) just smiles and nods, ‘Why did it feel like she was hiding something?’ you wonder as you watch (Y/N) move on to say goodbye to everyone else.

‘Something’s highly suspicious, and I need to know what.’ You think.

“Nat are you alright, you’ve been really quiet?” Wanda states in a hushed voice, so the guys don’t overhear.

“Wanda, I don’t know if I’m going crazy; but I think (Y/N) is hiding something from us. Did you notice her reaction when the commentator made a comment about Tony’s female driver?” you explain to Wanda.

“I did, though (Y/N) always has an opinion about men mouthing off about women.” Wanda tries to rationalise.

“Yeah you’re right Wanda, maybe I’m just reading too much into this.” You say and walk over to where Clint, Sam, and Thor are playing a racing game on the xBox.

\-------------------------------------------------


	25. Chapter 24

You wake up feeling better than you had in a long time, driving fast cars always seemed to calm you down and relax your body and mind; everything just appeared to fall into place.

Getting up from the couch you notice it's dark outside, you stretch and head out to the balcony and look up at the sky; you feel this incredible pull every time you looked at the stars almost like it was beckoning for you to join it.

You lean on the railing of the balcony and admire the stars for a few minutes before you head inside and decide to call room service to get a late dinner brought up. You look over the menu and decide on a simple spaghetti bolognese and called room service to have your food brought up to your room.

While you waited you decided to pour yourself a whiskey on the rocks, it felt different drinking without the team here with you; maybe it was the fact that you watched almost everyone getting totally smashed and you kept up with Steve, Bucky, Thor, and Loki when you drank Asgardian liquor.

Your mind wonders back to Bucky, who is most probably still up and worrying about you; so you decide to send him a message, hopefully, he could sleep knowing you were okay. You grab your burn phone and type Bucky a message.

'Hey Barnes, I’m sure you’re still up; wondering if I was okay, so I thought I’d let you know that I’m doing well and my mission seems to be going well so far. Please get some sleep, I’ll be back soon. Take care (Y/N)' you send the message to Bucky.

Within a few minutes the phone beeps notifying you of a message, you see a message from Bucky.

‘Hey (Y/N), I’m glad to hear you’re doing well and that your mission is going well; not sure if I can sleep, but I will try since you asked so nicely. Though I think I’ll sleep better once your back home, just please promise me you’ll be careful; let me know if you need any help because be I’ll be there in a flash. Thinking of you, Bucky’

You couldn’t help but feel a knot in your stomach, when you read Bucky’s message; you have no idea where that feeling came from and you really didn’t want to deal with it right now, so you didn’t reply and simply lay the phone down on the table as there was a knock at the door.

Opening the door you greet the server and let him in to leave your meal on the dining room table, you thank him and close the door, locking it in the process. Grabbing your drink and heading to the table to eat your dinner, you enjoy the peace and quiet; thinking of the next round of the competition tomorrow and you smile thinking of how easy it’s going to be.

‘Tony definitely was a genius’ you think, when he caught you racing your car around an abandoned track; he took it upon himself to get you to drive for Stark Industries having pulled strings last year for a women’s division to be introduced.

He never asked any questions, he simply recognised that you had a passion for driving fast cars; kind of how he had a passion for building and inventing things; so he had kept your racing for him a secret and passed off as a mission so the rest of the team wouldn’t know, you could count on him to keep this secret for you.

After you finished eating you washed the dish and the cutlery in the kitchen, making your way to the bedroom; getting changed into your pajamas and climbing under the covers to get some rest for tomorrow’s race.

\-------------------------------------------------------

Bucky’s POV

After (Y/N) left for her mission, you felt like something was missing; and for some reason, it was always when (Y/N) left for a mission or for some personal time. You decide to call it a night and you say good night to everyone in the common room before heading up to bed and hoped you’d get a decent night’s sleep, well any sleep was better than most of the nightmares that wretched your brain most nights.

Once you get to your apartment, you close the door and head start to your bedroom and strip down to your boxers and crawl under the covers on the bed and feel your eyes getting heavy, your brain becoming fuzzy and you’re out like a light in no time at all.

\-----  
You’re sitting on the couch in your lounge reading a book, when you hear a knock on the door and you say “Come in.” but a few seconds pass by with the person not opening the door so you get up to check, but you stop suddenly when you hear someone almost whisper ‘Bucky…’ you recognise that voice as (Y/N)’s voice and you hear a thud outside your door as you run and throw the door open to find (Y/N) lying in a pool of blood, trying to lift herself up.

“(Y/N)!!!!” you scream “No, please… p-please don’t die…” you’re on the verge of tears as you turn her over and pick her up and running with her in your arms, trying to get to the infirmary as quickly as possible.

You place (Y/N) on a bed and shout for Doctor Cho to help (Y/N), but the infirmary is empty; you’re lost in fear and shock. ‘I need to save (Y/N)’ you think as tears run down your face “Please… please (Y/N)… d-don’t leave me…” you cry as you stroke (Y/N)’s cheek, her skin getting colder with every passing second and you look at the wounds (Y/N) has and your heart sinks, because there’s no way to fix this kind of damage that’s been in done.

“(Y/N) please don’t die…” you say to (Y/N) sobbing while you hold (Y/N) closer “T-Tell me, w-who did this to you?” you know that time was running out, there’s no saving her now; you take a deep breath hoping (Y/N) will tell you who did this.

(Y/N) grabs your shirt and pulls you closer to her, both your faces inches apart and you look at (Y/N) desperately; she opens her mouth to speak but coughs up blood and you pull her up so she doesn’t choke on her own blood.

She tries to speak again after a couple failed tries “Bucky… It’s okay… You don’t need to dirty… your hands for me.” (Y/N) says and pulling (Y/N) closer into your chest “(Y/N) please we don’t have much time, please tell me who did this and I’ll make them pay for doing this to you.” You say distressed for an answer.

(Y/N) grabs your shirt more forcibly and you can feel her struggling to keep breathing, tears blurring your vision and you stroke her cheek; realising this is the end. You give up hope on (Y/N) telling you who hurt her and you simply pull her flat against you, your head in the crook of (Y/N)’s neck; you feel her heartbeat stutter and your breath catches knowing it’s the end.

You move your hand from (Y/N)’s cheek to her hair, which is covered in sweat, blood, and dirt; you can’t bring yourself to say anything and you cry openly, as you feel (Y/N)’s lips brush along your jaw; ‘God how you had wished for (Y/N) to touch you, but not like this…’ you think this wasn’t how it was supposed to be.

“Bucky…” (Y/N) whispers in your ear and you manage to hum in response, “T-The person… w-who did this… was y-you…” you pull (Y/N) back to look in her eyes, your face in complete shock at those words; but before you could say anything (Y/N)’s eyelids close as her head falls limp and she breathes her last and dies.

“NO!!! (Y/N) please!!! NO!!! I would never hurt you, not like this…” you scream over again.

\-----  
You jolt awake in bed to find your face wet with tears still rolling down your cheeks ‘Fuck that was one messed up nightmare’ you think and wipe away the tears with your hands, seems like sleep was not going to be your friend while (Y/N) was on a mission.

So you decide to get out of bed and change into your gym clothing and head towards the training room to let out your frustrations from the nightmare on a punching bag instead.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


	26. Chapter 25

Steve’s POV

Sitting in a chair on your balcony, sketching didn’t seem to relax your mind like usual; since your mind was distracted, so you place the sketch book and pencil down, sighing and rubbing your face with your hands; leaning back in the chair to look at the sky as the moon was rising in the sky.

You feel sad that (Y/N) still decided to go on the mission that Tony had given her, but there was nothing you could do; (Y/N) was as stubborn as ever and no matter how much you may have tried to talk her out of going, you knew (Y/N) would disappear if you forbid her from taking the mission.

Though what ate at you more was what (Y/N) said earlier before she left to pack for the mission; when she stated that at that point Tony knew better than anyone what she needed. ‘How had I missed what (Y/N) needed?’ you thought ‘Did I get completely side tracked when I realised that I had feelings for (Y/N)? It had been just over twenty-four hours and I still couldn’t figure out why I had feelings for (Y/N).’

You replay the mission in your head, going through it in extreme detail trying to figure out when you decided that you might love (Y/N); as you go through (Y/N)’s battle in that training room by herself, you begin to realise that watching (Y/N) fight for her life without any help is the trigger, but what really cemented the feeling in you was when (Y/N) got shot; the thought of living without her is so painful.

You rein in your thoughts and decide it better to call it a night, picking up your sketch book and pencil walking back into your bedroom and place the book and pencil on your night stand. You grab your pyjama pants and head to the bathroom to change and brush your teeth, before you pull back the covers on the bed and get comfortable; allowing sleep to overtake your mind, closing your eyelids and sighing as the darkness took over.

\-----

You jolt up in bed screaming, sweating as you loosening the grip you had on the sheets on the bed; ‘It was a nightmare.’ You tell yourself, wiping the sweat from your forehead with the sheet and slump back onto your bed; your arm covering your face.

You hear a light knock on your door, though before you can ask who it is; the door opens and closes. ‘Did Bucky hear me? Damn I have to stop waking him up’ you think and sit up on the bed waiting for Bucky to come in, but you’re left in complete surprise when it’s not Bucky who walks through the door.

“(Y/N)? What are you doing here? I thought you were on a mission?” you say feeling a little embarrassed that you weren’t wearing a shirt.

“I came back early, I was taking a walk around the compound when I hear you scream, so I came to check on you. Are you okay, you sounded really scared and upset?” (Y/N) says taking a seat on the edge of the bed next to you.

‘Why was I able to be this close to her?’ you wonder, especially since you knew how you felt about her. You notice she isn’t wearing her rings ‘Did she take them off? But why, she had been so committed in wearing those rings twenty-four hours a day; even during training and battles.’ You contemplate, your mind wondering to what possible reason (Y/N) would take them off.

You’re pulled back to the present when you feel a hand on your cheek and you look up; locking eyes with (Y/N), her smile taking your breath away and you realise that (Y/N) was wearing a lacy night dress.

You didn’t have time to register much else as (Y/N) brushed her lips against yours and you felt a heat deep inside you burst forth, pulling (Y/N) closer to you ‘God her lips were so perfect’ you think as (Y/N)’s tongue gently brushes over your bottom lip pleading for admission, which you gave without a second thought feeling your cock twitch and moan into (Y/N)’s mouth as she sucks your tongue.

You try to regain control of the situation and gently pull (Y/N) away looking at her “(Y/N) why are you here, dressed like that and not wearing your binding rings?” you couldn’t rationalise your thoughts, but at the same time you hoped (Y/N) wanted to be with you.

“I realised while I was on my mission that everything you ever did was because you cared about me, I saw that you had to keep your distance from me after our last mission; I started putting everything together and I just came to the realisation that you’re the one I want.” (Y/N) says with a smile on her face.

You hold eye contact with (Y/N) for a bit, suddenly (Y/N) moves with lightning speed and is straddling you, with you on your back on the bed; you’re taken back by (Y/N)’s movements, but that is quickly forgotten as soon as (Y/N) grinds against your hard throbbing cock and crashes her lips with yours; all rational thought is completely gone and you feel yourself getting lost in the feeling of having (Y/N) in your arms.

‘God this feels so good, I could stay like this forever.’ You think as both you and (Y/N) fight for dominance in this heated make out session; (Y/N) pulls away to catch her breath, as your hands cup her face and you smile like a love struck teenager.

(Y/N) places her hands over yours as she kisses you again, gentle and sweet this time; moving your hands down her body until your hands are on her thighs and slowly moves them under her night dress and you gasp, as (Y/N) pulls back.

“I need you Steve, I want you; please Cap.” (Y/N) says her voice raspy and her smile as hypnotic as ever.

You were in two minds, you just wanted to rip (Y/N)’s night dress of and make love to her the whole night; but your moral thoughts try to deter you.

“Are you sure (Y/N), I don’t want to hurt you?” you say in a hushed tone.

(Y/N)’s answer was instantaneous as she grinds against your throbbing cock again and whispers in your ear “All I want is you, nothing else matters Steve; I need all is you.”

Any doubt you may have thought you have fall away and you just let your feelings take over; running your hands up (Y/N)’s thighs lifting her night dress up and over her head.

Your eyes wide with shock when your hands throw the night dress on the floor, that (Y/N) isn’t wearing any underwear; you feel a growl leaving your throat as you crash your lips on (Y/N)’s neck, biting, nipping and sucking; drawing out sweet moans and whines from (Y/N), which spurred you on further.

You’re struggling to keep control of yourself with (Y/N) continuously grinding against you, grabbing (Y/N) closer to you and rolling (Y/N) onto her back, towering over her and sitting back on your heels you take a moment to admire the beautiful, gorgeous form of (Y/N) before you, on your bed sighing contently as she looked at you with lust filled eyes.

“Cap I want you to take me, please right now; I don’t want to wait any longer.” (Y/N) says.

You can’t find the words to speak, so you simply nod and move off the bed and take off your pyjama pants and boxers; releasing your rock hard cock and you climb back onto the bed, kissing every inch of (Y/N) as she runs her hands throw your hair.

You hover over (Y/N) looking for any sign from (Y/N) that she might have changed her mind, but she gives nothing away and you kiss her passionately as you lower yourself between (Y/N)’s legs, she wraps her legs around your waist pulling you closer to her and you feel the tip of your cock against (Y/N)’s wet folds.

You take a moment to catch your breath again, but that is short lived when you feel (Y/N)’s hand grasp your cock and gently stroke it, you both keep eye contact and you feel (Y/N) pulling you closer again with her legs and she eases your throbbing cock into her wet core, you both let out a magnificent moans and gasps; her head dropping back onto the bed and your head nestling in the crook of her neck.

You push yourself further into (Y/N), feeling her walls contract around your cock ‘This feels absolutely amazing’ you think as you fully sheath yourself. (Y/N) grinds up into you and you lose every ounce of self-control and pull out of (Y/N) and thrust back into her, which was a bit harder with (Y/N) using her legs to drive you in faster, making her moan and arch her back; you weren’t going to last long like this.

(Y/N) snakes her finger through your hair and pulls you closer to her and kisses your neck, licking a line from your collarbone right up to your jawline; making you shiver, your thrusts becoming faster and more erratic.

“(Y/N) I’m not going to last long if you keep does this to me.” You gasp and keep thrusting.

“Then finish me Steve, I’m yours.” (Y/N) whispers in your ear and your mind is blown.

You take one of (Y/N)’s nipple into your mouth, sucking and nipping; pulling more moans from (Y/N); moving one of your hands between both of you and rubbing (Y/N)’s swollen clit and you feel (Y/N)’s wall tighten.

“Steve… Oh God… I-I’m gonna cum… Ah yes… STEVE!!!” (Y/N) screams and that drives you right over the edge with her, as you keep thrusting, releasing your warm seed inside (Y/N) as her walls continue to clench around you.

\-----

You jolt up in your bed ‘Shit, what the hell?’ you think rubbing your face with your hand ‘Damn it, it felt so real’ and there was no way you could get back to sleep now, after that dream. So you decide to head down to the training room to blow off some steam, getting out of bed and changing into sweats and a shirt; you make your way down to the training room.

As you round the corner you notice that someone else is in the training room, as you get closer you see its Bucky and he looks like his world is falling apart; and you wonder what happened, so you make your way in and see Bucky turn to look at you.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


	27. Chapter 26

Bucky’s POV

You’d been punching the bag for hours now, but the feeling of distress and fear wasn’t going away; the memory of (Y/N)’s bloody face and body in your arms made your hands shake slightly. You decide to take a breather when you hear the door open and turn around to find Steve walking in, looking just as bad as you feel.

“Can’t sleep?” Steve says looking at you concerned.

“Just another nightmare…” you say looking down at the floor. “You?”

“Same here…” Steve replies “Punching bag not helping?”

“Unfortunately not…” you respond “Feel like sparring, I could use the company.”

“That sounds like a plan.” Steve says and heads over to the sparring mat.

You look at Steve, your best friend for the entirety of your whole life and you feel yourself relaxing a little. You follow Steve to the sparring mat, watching him stretch; you feel a little twinge remembering everything that happened in the last 36 – 48 hours; especially with regards to (Y/N) and Steve, and with you.

“You ready to go?” you ask, trying to refocus your mind.

“Yeah jerk, I’m ready. Are you ready to get beat?” Steve says with a smirk on his face.

“You punk, you know I can beat you in a fight hands down.” You reply shaking your head and smiling.

“So the usual deal? Hand to hand combat, best out of three?” Steve says with a smirk.

“Sounds like a plan Cap.” You say with a snide tone, a wide smile on your face as you take up your starting position.

“You know I’m going to wipe that damn smile right off your face Buck.” Steve states with a huge smile on his face, also taking up his starting position.

“Listen, old man, how about less talking and you show what you got.” You say, readying yourself for Steve; since you knew he hated being called an old man.

Steve lunges forward to grab you, but you shift left and twist around, grabbing Steve by his neck and kick him off balance; sending him to the mat with such force that you feel the floor shake a little as you straddle his back and put him in a choke hold.

“So you going to tell me why you can’t get near (Y/N) anymore Steve?” you say in a serious tone.

You feel Steve stiffen in your choke hold, after a couple of seconds before he taps out. You let go and get off of him, standing up and heading to your starting position; staring at Steve waiting for an answer.

Steve gets up and turns to look at you, the expression on his face says everything and you feel your hands shaking slightly in anger; Steve notices and puts his hands up in surrender.

“Buck, look I didn’t mean to fall for (Y/N); I promise. I don’t know what happened, something just clicked on our last mission and I can’t explain it.” Steve says hesitantly since he finally admitted that he has feelings for (Y/N).

“You knew that I’ve had feelings for (Y/N) for well over a year, now suddenly you love her. How could you do that to me, Steve, you were supposed to be my best friend!” You yell at Steve, watching his gaze drop to the floor.

You lung forward unable to restrain yourself anymore and punch Steve square in the face; Steve doesn’t even block, each hit after that and you feel yourself stopping ‘How can I beat up my best friend over (Y/N)?’ you think.

“Shit Steve, this is just so twisted…” you sit on top of Steve, shaking your head and pinch the bridge of your nose.

“I’m so sorry Buck; really I am. If you want I’ll stay far away from (Y/N).” Steve says with a hint of sorrow in his voice.

You get up off of Steve and meet his gaze, as he gets up as well.

“I’m not going to make you stay away from (Y/N) Steve if she wants to be around either one of us; (Y/N) will decide that.” You say with a genuine sigh “I know I’ve acted like a total jerk with (Y/N), but I really want to show her that I can be different.”

As Steve was about to respond, Clint comes bursting through the training room door with Sam.

“Hey grandpas… Damn Cap you look like shit. Thought I’d ask if you want to come and watch Stark’s female driver qualify for the time laps?” Sam says with a wide smirk on his face.

“Yeah, come on guys; then you both can tell (Y/N) about it when she gets back from her mission.” Clint states with a sneaky grin.

‘What the heck did Clint know that I don’t know?’ you think, but decide to brush it aside for now. You and Steve look at each other and walk out of the training room together and meet up with Sam and Clint by the elevator; when the elevator doors open and you walk into the common room, you find every one of the Avengers there including Loki; which is saying a lot since Loki doesn’t find earth activates royal enough for him.

You grab a seat on one of the single couches, and turn your attention to the TV; trying to ignore the looks everyone is giving Steve, with his bruised face.

Soon the commentator announces the rules of the time lap for the female drivers; which will start with a warm-up lap and the driver immediately goes straight into the qualifying lap, the commentator stating the current record time from last years’ race and proceeds hand over the cameras at the track.

You’re fascinated by Stark’s driver, she walks with such confidence and seems to look like she’s right at home; watching how she easily slips into the car and is strapped in. You feel yourself getting closer and closer to the edge of your seat as the female driver takes her warm up lap, watching the driver fluidly move around the track like it was a perfectly choreographed piece.

The whole room was completely silent, as the female driver went straight into the qualifying lap without any hesitation or even slowing down ‘Damn she is so amazing.’ You think as your eyes watch the car move through the track, totally speechless and in awe; you almost feel how relaxed and at peace the driver was.

As Stark’s female driver comes to stop by her pit crew everyone goes crazy; including Tony, the commentator also going wild talking about how the driver just broke her previous record from last year ‘Shit that is incredible’ you ponder ‘Who is she?’, but your mind get distracted watching Stark’s driver waving that the other female drivers, seeing their death stares toward Tony’s driver and you can’t help but laugh; ‘Damn she really is cocky’ you think as you carry on laughing.

Everyone stays to watch the other female drivers; you lose interest after a while and decide to head to the kitchen to grab a snack on your way back to your apartment. After having a shower and changing into a pair of faded jeans and a Henley shirt, you grab a book from the shelf in your apartment and lie down in bed reading for most of the day; having a little nap in the afternoon.

You head down to dinner when FRIDAY’s voice notifies you that everyone was heading to the kitchen for dinner. You stop before walking in when you notice that Steve was the one who had cooked; ‘I can’t hate my best friend, it’s no one’s fault.’ You think ‘Just breath.’ you take a deep breath and walk in and smile at Steve.

“Hey Buck, how are you feeling?” Steve says with a little reservation in his voice.

“I’m okay Steve, just needed some time to distract myself.” You state with a small smile. “So what can I help with?”

Steve smiles at you and replies “If you could help Sam and Wanda with setting the table that would be appreciated.”

You return his smile and head over to Wanda and Sam, to help out; everyone gathers round the dinner table to enjoy the meal that Steve had prepared. When Steve had placed the platters in the centre of the table, you realised he made spaghetti bolognese for dinner; it was one of your favourites especially during the 1940’s when the depression hit, it was a treat back then.

Looking at Steve with a silent, shocked expression on your face; you smile as you see Steve simply shrug and smile at you. You eat silently, listening to everyone talking about getting together to watch Stark’s female driver; you notice Natasha being a little too quiet while eating, as Wanda spoke to her.

You watch Wanda’s mouth, as she’s telling Natasha something; it almost looked like Wanda said that (Y/N) isn’t on a real mission ‘The only way that would be true, is if she read Tony’s or (Y/N)’s mind’ you mind doing overtime of what this means.

After everyone finished dinner, you decided to head up to your apartment; grabbing the book you had been reading as well as your phone and head out to the balcony. The clear night sky was amazing and beautiful, lying down on the hammock and opening the book to where you had left the bookmark; you carry on reading for a couple more hours since you wanted to finish the book.

Your mind is pulled from the book when you hear your phone beep, signalling a text message; you grab the phone and see it’s unknown number, but you open it anyway and read the message.

‘Hey Barnes, I’m sure you’re still up; wondering if I was okay, so I thought I’d let you know that I’m doing well and my mission seems to be going well so far. Please get some sleep, I’ll be back soon. Take care (Y/N)’

You feel your heart beat a little faster and you smile at your phone, you click reply and type a message for (Y/N).

'Hey (Y/N), I’m glad to hear you’re doing well and that your mission is going well; not sure if I can sleep, but I will try since you asked so nicely. Though I think I’ll sleep better once your back home, just please promise me you’ll be careful; let me know if you need any help, because be I’ll be there in a flash. Thinking of you, Bucky' you replied, keeping your phone in your hand and grabbing your book; you re-enter your bedroom and decide to give sleep a shot, opting for just your boxers.

You pull the covers back and get into bed and turn off the lamp on the nightstand, your mind slowly drifting into sleep.

\-------------------------------------------------


	28. Chapter 27

\----------------------------------------------------------

You wake up early in the morning, feeling refreshed and excited ‘It’s going to be a good day.’ You think, smiling to yourself; when you hear a knock on your bedroom door.

“Come in.” you say in a sing song tone, still smiling as Happy walks in with breakfast on a tray for you.

“Morning (Y/N), I hope you slept well. I got the hotel gym cleared for 2 hours, so you can head down after breakfast.” Happy say with a friendly smile “Today’s going to be electrifying, you’re going to blow everyone away.”

You laugh at the over the moon look on Happy’s face, he really loved watching you drive for some reason.

“I’m sure it’s going to be an unchallenged day.” You state as you laugh, getting out of bed and making your way to the coffee table where Happy had placed your breakfast.

As you sit down Happy backs out of your bedroom, leaving you to eat you in peace and quiet; you grab the TV remote and switch on the TV to the racing channel to see what the commentators are talking about, with regards to yesterday’s qualifying times and the events for today.

You find yourself smiling when you see footage of your qualifying lap time; the cameras catch a glimpse of the other female drivers who look like they just lost their cash cow. After a few minutes you finish your breakfast and you sit quietly, wondering what the rest of the team are doing.

So you grab the laptop out of your bag and log into Tony’s system and ask FRIDAY to show you footage of the team from yesterday, while you were driving; FRIDAY bringing up the footage within a few seconds and you watch with a shit eating grin on your face a you observe the team going crazy a you sped through the track.

You catch a glimpse of something that you find strange and you ask FRIDAY to pause and rewind 5 seconds back and zoom in closer to Steve to find his face has taken a beating, ‘What the hell happened?’ your curiosity being peaked and you ask FRIDAY to show you footage of what happened to Steve.

A few seconds later the footage of the gym a few hours before is playing out for you; you can’t hear much so you ask FRIDAY to turn the audio level up, which FRIDAY does; as you watch and see Steve and Bucky sparring in the gym.

***  
“You ready to go?” Bucky asks.

“Yeah jerk, I’m ready. Are you ready to get beaten?” Steve replies with a smirk on his face.

“You punk, you know I can beat you in a fight hands down.” Bucky says shaking your head and smiling.

“So the usual deal? Hand to hand combat, best out of three?” Steve says with a smirk still on his face.

“Sounds like a plan Cap.” Bucky says with a snide tone.

“You know I’m going to wipe that damn smile right off your face Buck.” Steve states with a huge smile on his face.

“Listen, old man, how about less talking and you show what you got.” Bucky retorts.  
***

You watch as Bucky and Steve spar with each other, surprised at how fast Bucky gets Steve in a choke hold. Listening, to the rest of the conversation between the two super soldiers.

***  
“So you going to tell me why you can’t get near (Y/N) anymore Steve?” Bucky asks Steve.

“Buck, look I didn’t mean to fall for (Y/N); I promise. I don’t know what happened, something just clicked on our mission and I can’t explain it.” Steve answers Bucky hesitantly.

“You knew that I’ve had feelings for (Y/N) for well over a year, now suddenly you love her. How could you do that to me Steve, you were supposed to be my best friend!” Bucky yells at Steve.  
***

You sigh and shake your head, ‘So they both have feelings for you.’ You think and that bring your mood down a little, but you carry on watching the footage; watching Bucky attack Steve and punch him repeatedly.

***  
“Shit Steve, this is just so twisted…” Bucky states.

“I’m so sorry Buck; really I am. If you want I’ll stay far away from (Y/N).” Steve replies.

“I’m not going to make you stay away from (Y/N) Steve, if she wants to be around either one of us; (Y/N) will decide that.” Bucky says “I know I’ve acted like a total jerk with (Y/N), but I really want to show her that I can be different.”  
***

You close the video feed and turn your laptop off; this wasn’t what you were expecting; the same thing you went through with Logan and Remy. Unfortunately you’re drawn from your thoughts, when someone knocks on your bedroom door and you see Happy standing there with a smile filled with excitement.

“(Y/N) just came to check if you were finished with breakfast, the gym I secured for you; when you’re ready.” Happy says picking up the tray.

“Thank Happy, I’m just going to change and I’ll head down to the gym.” You say getting up, grabbing your change of clothes and heading to the bathroom.

You head down to the gym, with Happy in tow to make sure no one disturbs you; making the 2 hours count, getting your cardio level up and doing strength training. Your mind wondering back to Bucky and Steve’s fight over you ‘How am I going to fix this?’ you think while taking a couple of swings at the punching bag; you look up to see Happy approaching and you finish up your last round of punches.

“(Y/N), sorry you like you’re focused; but we need to leave to head over to the track.” Happy says with a gentle smile.

“It’ okay Happy, I a finishing up anyway; how long until we leave?” you asks returning his smile, taking of your punching gloves.

“We can leave in 30 minutes, if you need more time I can phone ahead and ask them to move your track time for a later time?” Happy says pulling out his phone, as you both make your way to the elevator.

“No, it’s perfectly fine; it’s more than enough time.” You state and get into the elevator when it opens, for you and Happy to get in.

Once you’re back in your hotel room, you head to the bathroom and have a quick refreshing shower, getting dressed to head out the track. You meet Happy at the entrance of your hotel room and head though the hotel to the car, so Happy can get you to the track.

Happy explains the roster for today, and it seems you’ll be going last today; that’s not what you had planned, but you’ll just have to live with it.

“Okay Happy, so since I have to be around the hole day waiting for my turn; I’m going to change into suit and mask. I’ll spend some time with the crew and watch my competitors, plus I'll get Stark Industries more exposure.” You say, grabbing you bag containing your driver suit and mask to start getting changed in the back of the car.

Happy is blushing profusely and quickly puts up the partition in the car, when you start getting undressed.

By the time you get to the track, you’ve told Happy to stay out of sight; so the photographers and camera guys don’t spot him.

You head through the building towards your pit crew, as they see you they start howling and shouting their greetings; which catches the attention of the other female drivers and their crews, and they sure as hell don’t look happy about you arriving.

Cameras and photographers start filming and snapping pictures endlessly as you fist bump, hug and high-fiving your crew members; heading to toward the side of the track to watch the other drivers doing their final qualifying time lap.

You watch with intrigue as the current driver makes her way around the track ‘She’s scared of crashing, no wonder she’s only hitting an average time.’ You think, just then movement in the corner of your eye get your attention.

As you turn your head, you narrowly miss someone trying to take a swing at you with a large spanner; out of instinct you back flip away to get some distance between you and your attacker. It’s one of the other female drivers, the champion driver that you beat last year, and she looks totally pissed.

Right now was no time for you to use your fighting skills, so as she runs at you again you quickly dodge left and hit the driver between her neck and head knocking her unconscious; your eyes are blinded by flashes from the photographers ‘Shit damn it! I didn’t need this right now.’ You say to yourself.

You walk away as the security guards and paramedic arrive, heading to your changing room inside the building; this was not how you saw your day going and this just pissed you off completely.

\-------------------------------------------


	29. Chapter 28

Nat’s POV

You wake up a bit later than usual this morning, after trying to hack Tony’s system’s to find out what mission (Y/N) had gone on; because something just didn’t smell right and you hated being in the dark.

Heading for the kitchen to grab some breakfast, you find everyone already up and eating breakfast together.

“Hey sleepy head, late morning?” Clint asks with a smirk.

“Yeah, something like that Barton.” You reply, grabbing a mug, pouring coffee into the mug and take a healthy sip to wake yourself up properly.

“So who’s the lucky guy, Nat?” Tony says with a mischievous smile.

“Really Tony, you’re going to try and play that card?” you say with a loathing look on your face.

“Well clearly someone really banged your clock for you to be up so late in the morning.” Tony says as he laughs and takes a sip of his coffee.

“Wouldn’t you love to know Tony; especially since you know you don’t have a chance in hell.” You retort.

“Oh damn, Stark just got burnt. Quickly throw him in a pile of his money, so he doesn’t go into cardiac arrest!” Sam shouts high-fiving Clint as everyone cracks up laughing.

Wanda comes walking into the kitchen with Vision following behind her.

“Hi everyone, just thought I’d let everyone know that the common room is setup for watching the time laps.” Wanda says looking at her watch “Which should be starting right now.”

Wanda and Vision leave and head to the common to get a seat, as everyone heads over to the common room.

You look in amazement how something as small as (Y/N) enjoying race cars seemed to bring the whole team together, wanting to watch the competition together; even though (Y/N) wants here. Shaking the thoughts from your head, you walk into the common room and take a seat between Sam and Clint.

Everyone is immediately interested as soon as the commentators start discussing the events for today; the time laps for today are being broadcast live.

The commentator announces the rotation of the driving roster; so Tony’s driver will be going last today, ‘Speaking of which I haven’t seen Tony’s driver with the rest of the drivers awaiting their turn.’ You wonder.

Your thoughts are refocused on the TV when the commentator announces the arrival of Tony’s driver at the pits.

Everyone is totally enthralled by Tony’s driver, you find yourself smirking watching the guys in the group, well besides Vision who look like they’re hypnotised by this driver; though you’ll admit this driver has some serious skills that surpass anything you’ve ever seen.

“Guys you know your jaws are gonna fall off if you keep gawking like that right?” you say almost laughing when Wanda meets your gaze.

"Now, now Nat… No need to be jealous, because we still love you.” Tony states with a wide smile.

“Tony you really are looking for trouble.” Steve pipes up “No one is going to help you when Nat kicks your ass around the common room.”

“Besides, Nat isn’t the jealous type; she’s beautiful in her own way.” Wanda says giving you a gentle smile.

“It’s okay everyone, we all know that Tony’s just really insecure about the fact that this driver of his is even better than he is.” You reply, watching as Tony’s snide expression twists into annoyance.

“I need a drink, if I’m going to have to listen to this bullshit.” Tony retorts, getting up and heading over to the bar.

“Language, Tony!” Clint, Wanda, T’Challa, Thor, Nat, Wanda and Bucky all shout together; which ensues a new round of laughter as Steve puts a hand to his face and shakes his head.

“Alright, kids let’s get back to watching the time laps.” Sam chimes in and everyone stifling their laughter and turn their attention back to the TV.

You watch as different camera angles get glimpses of Tony’s driver, a sudden movement just off screen catches your eye and you almost shout when you see one of the other drivers running to attack Tony’s driver.

“What the hell!” you shout “Tony you better come see this, like right now.”

Tony comes running toward the couches as complete and utter chaos erupts in the common room, everyone is shouting and losing their tempers over the driver that is attacking Tony’s driver.

You watch as Tony’s driver dodges the attacks and knocks out the other driver ‘That move… No way… I’ve only seen that move once before. It can’t be (Y/N), she would have told us.’ You think, your mind working overtime to figure out who this driver is.

Your attention is brought back when you hear Tony speaking.

“Guys, give me a minute I need to check something out.” Tony says with a serious look on his face, turning around swiftly and leaving the common room.

Steve, Vision and Wanda are trying to calm everyone down; which is proving to be difficult, until Wanda gets upset and uses her powers to calm everyone down by force.

“I think we can safely say the Tony’s driver can take care of herself, so can we enjoy the rest of the time laps; or do people need to take a walk?” Steve says with his Captain America voice, which gets those last few to relax back into their seats.

‘This is an interesting development.’ You think seating further into the couch.

\--------------------------------------------------------

 

Tony’s POV

‘I hate mornings…’ you think, as you gulp down your strong black coffee, your hand holding up your head; as you watched most of the team getting through their breakfasts.

Usually everyone would be doing their own thing, but since (Y/N) had been watching the re-runs from her racing last year; it seems like everyone had taken an interest and some guys had even placed bets. You look up as soon as you hear Clint speak to Nat, about waking up late this morning. So you decide to have a little fun to wake up properly.

“So who’s the lucky guy, Nat?” you say with a mischievous smile.

“Really Tony, you’re going to try and play that card?” Nat says with a loathing look on her face.

“Well clearly someone really banged your clock for you to be up so late in the morning.” you reply laughing and takes a sip your coffee.

“Wouldn’t you love to know Tony; especially since you know you don’t have a chance in hell.” Nat retorts.

“Oh damn, Stark just got burnt. Quickly throw him in a pile of his money, so he doesn’t go into cardiac arrest!” Sam shouts high-fiving Clint as everyone cracks up laughing.

You’re quick witted comment goes right out of your head, as you see Wanda walking into the kitchen with Vision following behind her.

“Hi everyone, just thought I’d let everyone know that the common room is setup for walking the time laps.” Wanda says looking at her watch “Which should be starting right now.”

Wanda and Vision leave and head to the common to get a seat, as everyone heads over to the common room.

As much as (Y/N) says she doesn’t hold the team together or even get them do team activities, she’s definitely fooling herself. The team is so amped to watch (Y/N) race even though they don’t know it’s her.

You grab a chair near the back of the team, to watch everyone else reaction to (Y/n)’s driving; because let’s face it that’s the only real reason everyone is taking time out of their day to watch, even Bruce who’s all peace, calm and tranquillity is enjoying this too.

Everyone is immediately interested as soon as the commentators start discussing the events for today; the time laps are being broadcast live.

The commentator announces the rotation of the driving roster; ‘so (Y/N)’s will be going last today’ you think to yourself.

Your eyes catch (Y/N) walking through the pits just as the commentator announces her arrival; as your driver.

You observe everyone as their totally enthralled by (Y/N), and you can’t help but snigger to yourself quietly at the back of the team.

“Guys you know your jaws are gonna fall off if you keep gawking like that right?” Nat says looking at Wanda.

"Now, now Nat… No need to be jealous, because we still love you.” you state with a wide smile.

“Tony you really are looking for trouble.” Steve pipes up “No one is going to help you when Nat kicks your ass around the common room.”

“Besides, Nat isn’t the jealous type; she’s beautiful in her own way.” Wanda says giving Nat a gentle smile.

“It’s okay everyone, we all know that Tony’s just really insecure about the fact that this driver of his is even better than he is.” Nat replies.

‘She just had to bring up Monaco… God I hate her sometimes.’ You sigh in annoyance.

“I need a drink, if I’m going to have to listen to this bullshit.” you retort, getting up and heading over to the bar.

You make your way to your bar and grab a glass and whiskey, pouring a double shot and take a sip ‘Yeah I definitely need this.’ You think smiling to yourself, but your thoughts are interrupted by Nat shouting.

“What the hell!” Nat shouts “Tony you better come see this, like right now.”

You put your glass down run back toward the couches as complete and utter chaos erupts in the common room, everyone is shouting and losing their tempers over the driver that attacked Tony’s driver.

You watch as (Y/N) is dodging attacks from another driver. ‘SHIT! Damn it.’ You almost say out loud, ‘I need to speak to (Y/N) right now.’ You practically rip your phone out of your pocket.

“Guys, give me a minute I need to check something out.” you say with a serious look on his face, turning around swiftly and leaving the common room.

Once you’re safely in your lab, you get FRIDAY to secure all channels of communication in the compound, so no one knows who you’re calling.

You dial (Y/N)’s burn phone and wait for her to pick up.

“Hello?” (Y/N) says.

“Oh thank God, I was worried; are you okay?” you say.

“Yeah, I’m fine. No injuries; I turn it down a couple of notches so no one would know it’s me driving for you.” (Y/N) replies, but her voice doesn’t sound calm at all.

“You sure you’re okay? You sound a bit pissed.” You ask rubbing a hand up and down your face “Do you want me to get a hold of the shareholders on the competition and tell them to disqualify that crazy cow?”

“I’ll be okay, I just need to chill out and I’ll be ready to race when it’s my turn.” (Y/N) says “And there’s no need to get that driver disqualified, let the committee do their job; because once it's race day she’ll know who the boss is.”

You love it when (Y/N) gets cocky like that “Well at least you sound a little more like yourself now.” You pipe up with a smile “Just please be careful, stay indoors until it’s your turn; so the psycho doesn’t get the urge to try to attack you again.”

“Will do dad.” (Y/N) states “How is everyone doing at home?”

“Well you definitely have everyone on edge, I think they were all ready to assemble to come to your rescue when you got attacked.” You reply with a genuine shit eaten smile on your face.

“Oh shit, that would have been hard to explain…” (Y/N) says laughing at the thought “Listen I’m going to go, just make sure no one suspects anything.”

“Yeah, will do sweet cakes; just please be careful.” You say with a sincere concern.

“See you soon Tony. Bye.” (Y/N) utters before hanging up.

You end the call and pocket your phone and head back to the common room and hang out with the team; which you hope have calmed down.

\-------------------------------------------------


	30. Chapter 29

Loki’s POV

 

‘Finally some peace and quiet’ you think as you open the book you stole from (Y/N)’s room; well you didn’t really steal it in essence, more like borrowed with the intention of returning it before she gets back from her mission.

You hadn’t taken the time to speak to (Y/N) after the whole blow out in the training room, while she was teaching you to knife throw; though you know she wouldn’t hold it against you; since you knew that (Y/N) always understood and wouldn’t hold outbursts against people.

It was amazing how (Y/N) had grown up to become the woman she was today; who would have known the certain decisions that were made for the greater good would have yielded these results. Well you knew one person did, your mom was a wise woman; Frigga could always foresee what could become a danger in the future.

You’re drawn from your thoughts when you hear shouting in the compound and you decide to see what the commotion is about, watching from just outside the common room everyone is shouting about Tony’s driver being attacked.

‘These mortals are truly stupid.’ you think and smirk ‘After a year and a half they still don’t realise that the driver is (Y/N).’

You find it amusing how the team gets so worked up, even though (Y/N) wasn’t injured; you even find yourself trying to stifle a laugh when your oaf of a brother Thor is still roaring about the attacker being a dishonorable wretch.

Finally things quieten down after Wanda uses her powers to calm them down, but you notice Natasha being extremely quiet; it was almost like watching someone coming up with a plan in her mind ‘She must have her suspicions about (Y/N) being Tony’s driver.’ you think, making your way into the common room to join the team.

“May I ask what all the fuss is about?” you ask in complete innocence.

“We’re watching the time laps and Tony’s driver was attacked by another driver.” Wanda says in a composed tone.

“I see, so was anyone injured?” you ask while trying to hide your smirk, because you already knew that (Y/N) would be fine.

“Brother, Tony’s driver is amazing; she knocked out the other driver in one fluid movement. Even Lady Sif could not have been that graceful.” Thor boasted with a total smile of innocence and awe.

‘Truly Thor, you are a moron.’ You think “I think I’ll stay and observe this intriguing program that seems to get you mortals riled up like ungovernable wretches.”

You take a seat a little further away from the team and watch as everyone seems to focus back on the TV, waiting to see what will happen next.

\--------------------------------------------

 

As soon as you get to your change room in the building, your burn phone starts buzzing and you answer it.

“Hello?” you say.

“Oh thank God, I was worried; are you okay?” Tony asks in an extremely concern tone.

“Yeah, I’m fine. No injuries; I turn it down a couple of notches so no one would know it’s me driving for you.” you reply, not really convincing Tony.

“You sure you’re okay? You sound a bit pissed.” Tony says “Do you want me to get a hold of the shareholders on the competition and tell them to disqualify that crazy cow?”

“I’ll be okay, I just need to chill out and I’ll be ready to race when it’s my turn.” You explain “And there’s no need to get that driver disqualified, let the committee do their job; because once it’s race day she’ll know who the boss is.”

You hear Tony laughing on the line “Well at least you sound a little more like yourself now.” Tony pipes up “Just please be careful, stay indoors until it’s your turn; so the psycho doesn’t get the urge to try to attack you again.”

“Will do dad.” you state with a smirk “How is everyone doing at home?”

“Well you definitely have everyone on edge; I think they were all ready to assemble to come to your rescue when you got attacked.” Tony replies.

“Oh shit, that would have been hard to explain…” you say, while laughing at the thought “Listen I’m going to go, just make sure no one suspects anything.”

“Yeah, will do sweet cakes; just please be careful.” Tony says with sincere concern.

“See you soon Tony. Bye.” You say before hanging up.

You decide to relax on the couch in your room, waiting for Happy to return and after about 20 minutes; there’s a knock at the door, you sit up immediately wondering who it could be.

“It’s me Happy, can I come in?” you hear Happy say from the other side of the door.

“Sure come in.” you say staying on the couch.

Happy opens the door, walks in and closes the door behind him before moving to sit on a chair opposite the couch.

“So what do we know?” you ask Happy with a solemn look.

“It seems the previous champion is still pissed you beat her and took her title.” Happy states while shaking his head in disgust at that drivers actions.

“What has the committee decided to do about this incident?” you ask with curiosity.

“Well the committee has chosen not to disqualify her, but her qualifying time from yesterday will be erased and she’ll only have today to try and qualify; if she doesn’t get in the top 40, she’ll be out of the competition.” Happy explains with a look of utter disbelief at what the committee had decided.

“It seems fair under the circumstance, but I would recommend to the committee to keep a close eye on her so she doesn’t try anything else with any of the other drivers.” You say with a wary look on your face.

Happy perks up at your suggestion and gets up quickly heading for the door, you don’t bother asking where his headed since you already know; the poor man just can’t help but want to help ensure everyone was safe.

You smile to yourself and relax into the couch for a few minutes, before you push yourself off the couch and grab a bottle of water and a couple of snacks to munch on; while you wait for your turn on the track.

Happy returns and keeps you company, watching over you while you had a nap and making sure no one disturbed you; Happy even waking you up 20 minutes before your turn on the track was due.

You had to admit that you enjoyed Happy’s company when it came to racing, because he had a love and passion for the sport; whether it was men or women racing.

Pushing yourself off the couch and stretch your muscles, putting your suit mask and helmet on; following Happy out of the room heading towards the pits to get ready for your turn.

While you’re being strapped into the driver’s seat of your race car; you siense something strange and you slowly observe your surroundings to find what it is that has you feeling this uneasy feeling, as you glance over the stands; you notice 2 figures in the shadows watching you, but you can’t to make out who they are from such a far distance.

Your pulled from your thoughts when you pit crew manager says that you need to head through to the starting line, you nod and pull off heading onto the track; focusing your mind and pushing every other thought out of your mind, besides the feeling relief and thrill of driving fast.

You watch as the light goes from red to orange, from orange to green and you speed off smoking your tyres as you pull off at top speeds, pushing yourself to go faster in your warm up lap; which is uncommon for you, since you were always so in control.

You’re finding hard to keep your focus on your time lap, and you nearly lose your control of the car as you pass the stands and recognise the 2 figures standing in the shadows ‘Shit Damn it!’ you almost shout out loud ‘Not now, not here.’

Shaking your head, you try to get a grip on your emotions and sped forward at break neck speeds to recapture the momentum you had finishing your time lap quickly; you come to a shrieking holt by the pits and get out of your car as quickly as possible, not even waiting to see your scores.

You hurry inside the building pulling Happy into your room and slamming the door behind you both.

“(Y/N) are you okay?” Happy asks with genuine concern.

“I’m fine, just please get the car ready as soon as possible. I’ll be there in less than 5 minutes.” You say in a stern voice.

“Of course (Y/N).” Happy nods and heads for the door, closing it behind him; leaving you alone in the room.

You get changed as quickly as possible into your disguise and head out to the car, Happy pulling off as soon as you close the door.

Those two figures still in your mind, distracting you from any other thoughts ‘how the hell did this happen?’ you think.

\----------------------------------------------------------


	31. Chapter 30

You didn’t want to worry Tony about the 2 figures that had been at the track, it was pointless in blowing your cover for 2 people; you would handle things like you always did, alone.

Once you were back at the hotel you ordered dinner, and decided to have a quick shower in between waiting for the food to arrive. You were refreshed and dressed by the time there was a knock at the door to your hotel room, you opened the door and the same server from yesterday is waiting with your tray; you take the tray from him, thank him and close the door promptly.

You turn on the TV and watch the highlights from today’s time laps; you grab a bottle of water from the fridge and sit at the table to dig into your meal, take the occasional glance at the TV. You’re about halfway through when you look up at the TV to watch the footage that was being shown, when you feel your blood go cold in an instant from what you see on the TV screen; there was no mistaking who those 2 figures were.

The door to your hotel room is opened and you jump out of your seat, forgetting about your dinner; only to breathe a sigh of relief when you see it’s Happy.

“Are you alright (Y/N), you look like you’ve seen a ghost?” Happy says in a concerned manner.

“Um... Yeah Happy. I’m fine, did Tony by any chance give you a secure bag?” you ask Happy, while you turn to cover your plate of unfinished food.

“Tony did give me a secure bag. He said it wouldn’t be necessary, but just a precaution. Did something happen (Y/N)?” Happy asks with a worried look on his face.

“No, everything fine Happy.” You smile, lying through your teeth “I just wanted to take a small trip to cool off after what happened today.”

Hopefully Happy won’t think anymore into it, otherwise he might get hurt; before you could fix this problem.

“Okay, I hide the bag in the ceiling in the closest for you; do you want me to organise you a ride?” Happy asks a little uneasy.

“That will be perfect, a motorbike will be best suited for where I’m going to blow off steam.” You say making your way to your bedroom.

“Okay, the bike will be ready in 15 minutes.” Happy states and walks towards the door, closing it behind you.

You get the chair from the coffee table by the window in your bedroom and take it to the closest, getting on top of the chair you manage to lift the ceiling trap door, moving your hand around the edge of the frame of the ceiling opening; you feel the bag after a couple of seconds and pull it out, taking it to open on your bed.

Opening the bag and removing everything that had been packed, your eyes widen ‘I could kiss you Tony’ you think as you laugh to yourself; your entire Avengers suit and weapons had been packed. You quickly suit up and strap all your weapons, you give yourself a once over to make sure you have everything.

As you’re about to walk out of your bedroom, your burn phone goes off; you grab the phone and see a message from Tony.

'So Happy tells me you asked for the secure bag, anything I should know (Y/N)?' Tony’s message reads.

‘How am I going to play this down’ you wonder before answering his text.

'I just need to distract myself, you know how it is sometimes Tony.' You reply, hoping he didn’t ask any more questions.

'Yeah I do, though I thought that’s why I sent you to drive for me (Y/N) :)' Tony responds.

'I know, but after that incident today, I just want to blow off some steam; so I don’t take it out on the track tomorrow. I’ll keep my burn phone with me, just in case something happens.' You answer.

'Alright sweet cakes, just be careful and don’t be late for the race tomorrow; your sweetheart Tony :)' Tony responds.

'Hahaha Tony, you’re such a charmer. I’ll be there, you just get another shelf open for the new trophy.' You reply and place the burn phone in one of your suit holster.

You head out of the bedroom, walk out onto the balcony and climb up onto the ledge; carefully moving along the ledge on your floor, making your way around to the back of the building, where no preying eyes could see you ‘Thank goodness Tony got me the top floor.’ You think.

Once you reached the your destination, you slide down the pipes landing silently on the pavement outside the garage area; making sure the guard isn’t there, you slip into the garage undetected making your way to where the car is kept.

‘Happy you are a sweetie pie.’ You think, smiling as you walk up to the gorgeous black motorbike parked next to the car; you get on the bike, start the engine and speed off out of the garage onto the streets.

You make your way towards the forests around 30 minutes outside the city, for people’s safety; knowing that this situation could get really tense. Parking your bike in the bushes off the road, you start walking deeper into the forest finding a clearing about 1.5 kilometres in.

As you get to the centre of the clearing; you sense 2 figures slowly emerging from the shadows of the trees at the other end of the clearing. You place your hands behind your back, keeping a tight grip on your katana swords; just in case things get out of hand.

“We’re so glad you decided to meet us (Y/N)” the first figure in a black cloak says, with an arrogant tone in his voice.

“Well considering that you would have most probably levelled that city, I didn’t have much of a choice. Now what do you both want” you say in an aggressive tone.

“Why do you always ask the same question, you know that we’re here to take you home? Simply come with us and all will be explained.” The second cloaked figure states, you can see the snide smile on his face.

You feel your blood boiling, and you tried to keep your temper in check; knowing that this could end badly.

“I’ve told you before; I am home, so get the hell out of here; because I’m not interested.” You retort gripping your katana swords tighter, trying to ground your mind.

“Now that won’t do (Y/N), do you really think you belong here on this good for nothing planet? You’re home is back with your parents, who have searched across galaxies and realms for you.” The first cloaked figure says, taking a step towards you.

“Stay away from me!” you scream, pulling out your katana swords and point them at the 2 figures.

“Now, now (Y/N); you don’t want to do that.” The second cloaked figure stated in a condescending tone.

“Oh I think I do, since last time you guys tried to kidnap me; I killed your whole team and you ran for your lives.” You say smirking at the 2 figures.

Both figures move towards you and you take a few steps back to ready yourself.

“Darling (Y/N), why are you making this so hard for yourself? All we want to do is take you home.” The first figure says as he pulls out a strange looking sword and the second figure follows suit.

“I’m not making this hard on myself; quite simply I’m not interested in going anywhere with you or meeting my so called ‘parents’.” You state, readying yourself for their attack.

“If you only knew what you were truly capable of, you would not being saying those words; you have not even tapped into your powers fully yet.” The first cloaked figure says separating from the second figure.

“Well I’ll take my chances in learning myself.” You say growing tired of their talking, you run towards the second figure clashing swords with him.


	32. Chapter 31

“Come now (Y/N), why must you be so spirited with all the wrong fights.” The first cloaked figure states as he rushes forward to impale you on his blade.

You kick back the second cloaked figure and spin around just in time and drop to your swiping your katana swords across his chest, causing blood to spray onto your face, hair and suit; watching the first cloaked figure fall backwards onto the ground as his blood seeps onto the ground.

The shock of having foul smelling blood on you overwhelmed your senses; unfortunately in those couple of seconds you didn’t see the second cloaked figure stabbed himself with a dagger and sneak up behind you, as you got to your feet, the cloaked figure stabs you in the right arm just below your shoulder.

‘Shit dammit!’ you shouted in your mind, as you back kick the figure and spin around; you watched as he slowly gets up from the ground. Your right arm is tingling and a searing pain is spreading through your arm into your shoulder ‘I better finish this off quickly.’ You think and grip your katana swords tighter.

“Do yourself a favour and leave before I really get mad.” You state in a aggressive tone, giving the cloaked figure a death glare.

“Now, now (Y/N) you might want to be careful with threatening me; if I wanted you dead you would be already.” The cloaked figure stated and lunges at you, you shift your body slightly left, as he hits the ground you swing around and drive your katana swords into his back, but he disappears and reappears 3 metres from you panting and coughing up blood, as his body begins to convulse.

You move slowly towards him, keeping your guard up just in case he tried anything further.

“I hope you manage to deliver a message before you die asshole. I leave me the hell alone, I don’t care about leaving earth, nor do I need to meet parents who I don’t know.” You state in a serious tone.

“I’ll d-deliver… your message… but I a-ask yourself one s-simple question. W-Why does Loki… look at you with s-suspicious eyes… sometimes?” the cloaked figure says “I-I will leave you… a p-parting gift… if you t-truly lose your… anger one d-day… and w-wish for death on y-your enemy, you might be surprised at w-what happens…” suddenly he disappears into thin air, as you turn around to find the other cloaked figure you had killed, but find that the body is missing.

“Well this is fucking fantastic…” you practically shout as you sheath your katana swords and make your way back to the bike you hide in the bushes off the road.

As you make your way back you feeling your right arm pulsing painfully and the smell isn’t that grand either, you clasp your left hand over the wound firmly; ‘I wonder if that bastard stabbed me with his blood on the knife’ you ponder, getting closer to where the bike was left. You pull out a small first aid kit and bandage your arm; to take a closer look once you were back at the hotel.

You pull the bike from the bushes, climb on, start the bike and make your way back to the hotel; you mange to sneak the bike back into the garage without any issues and make your way to the through the secret passages and elevator that Happy used to get you in and out of the hotel; thank goodness no one was up this late in the night.

Once you’re back in your hotel room you head straight to the bathroom and remove all your weapons and strip off your suit; wincing in pain when you pull off the right sleeve. You step into the shower and turn the water on, letting the water wash away all the blood, sweat and dust off of you; grabbing the sponge you use your left hand to pour shower gel on the sponge and give your body a good clean, but the stab wound on your arm is not feeling any better.

After you finished your shower, you get out, dry yourself and walk into your bedroom and grab a pair of underwear and a thin strap top; getting yourself dressed, you and grab your secure bag and throw your weapons and suit inside and zip the bag up, putting it back in place where Happy had hidden it.

You move over to your luggage bag and grab your first aid kit, since you were always prepared to sort out your own injuries when you were on your own. Heading to the bathroom you open the kit and pull out the disinfectant, opening the seal you pour nearly half the bottle on the open wound; hissing as the pain increased tenfold.

There is some discoloured liquid coming out of the wound; it looks like the blood of those 2 cloaked figures ‘Damn it…’ you thought ‘This pain is not going to go away by tomorrow.’, you grab an anti-infection injection from the kit and stab it into your right arm about 2 cenitmetres from the wound.

Grabbing the gauze, you drab it on the wound to get the bleeding to slow down; and after 20 minutes the bleeding slows down enough for you to prep a needle and thread to stitch up the wound so it can heal properly.

After sterilizing the needle and thread, you take one look in the bathroom mirror; taking a deep breath you block off your emotions and stick the needle into your arm and begin stitching the wound closed.

Eventually after 30 minutes of concentration and a damn skilled left hand, you cut the extra thread with the scissors and use a anti-bacterial wipe to clean around the wound and pull out a bandage and dress up the wound; ensuring you clean up all the blood and mess you made.

Finally you make your way to bed and crawl under the covers and fall asleep instantly; your body feeling exhausted from the physical and physiological workout it’s had in the last 12 hours.

 

\----------------------------------------------------------

Flashback to 15 years ago

“(Y/N), why won’t you let me see into your mind? Or help you work through your early memories?” Professor Xavier states.

“Because the best thing to do, is to leave things that are in the past exactly where they are, in the past. I know the life I have lived has been complicated, even without most of my childhood memories, but I became who I wanted to be.” You reply in a harsh tone.

“I understand your concerns (Y/N), truly I do; but don’t you find it strange that you can foresee the death of those you love?” Professor Xavier says in a gentle concerned tone.

“Ever since I was young Professor, I have had these dreams and they always ended the same; until I chose to make them change. That is good enough for me; it started out as a curse when I was young, because I was so unskilled that I couldn’t protect those closest to me, but now it’s a blessing that I get to protect others.” You state in a confident tone, hoping that the Professor would leave the subject alone.

“I understand your hesitant and snubbing notion of not wanting to know more about yourself, but how will this current action help you or those you care about?” Professor Xavier states, in a gentle and serene tone.

You sigh and hunch your shoulders forward; clearly there was no winning with the Professor.

“Fine, dig through my mind and find a memory or memories from my childhood if you must...” you said with a heaving a sigh.

“(Y/N) please don’t do this begrudgingly; I will only do it if you are truly okay with me opening up your mind.” Professor Xavier states with a concerned tone.

“This is your one and only chance to sift through my early memories, so you might as well take it while you can.” You reply in an exasperated voice.

“You really are a stubborn woman (Y/N).” the Professor states with a smile, shaking his head.

“Yeah I know, Logan reminds me of that often; now let’s get this over with.” you say laughing at the Professor.

“Alright, just lie down on the couch and we’ll get started.” Professor Xavier says, indicating to the couch in the corner of his office.

You walk over to the couch and lie down, getting comfortable; knowing that it’s going to be a rough trip for you, since you couldn’t remember majority of your younger years. Looking up at the ceiling you see Professor Xavier in your eye view at the end of the couch, he looks at you intently and you give him a nod to continue, closing your eyes to try and relax your body and mind.

After a couple of seconds you feel like your soul is being pulled from your body, watching past events from different time periods in your life pass you by; it keeps going until all of a sudden you are in the middle of a strange place you don’t remember.

You hear the Professor’s voice telling you, that you needed to see this event in your life; you nod and turn to watch the scene play out in front of you.

 -------------------

[You see a little girl about 3 years old, running around what looks like her bedroom with 2 cloaked figures watching over her, it’s so strange because the girl looks exactly like a smaller version of herself.

“Come now (Y/N) you know you need to go to sleep, otherwise you will be tired for your lessons tomorrow.” The first cloaked figure states.

“Okay…” little (Y/N) says with a sigh.

Watching as little (Y/N) walks over to the bed and climbs under the covers, the 2 cloaked figures comes to tuck her in; wishing her a good night sleep.

Little (Y/N) closes her eyes and fall asleep so easily, an innocent soul always tended to find sleep effortlessly.

As you continued to watch, you notice a noise in the shadows and two figure emerge walking silently towards the bed where little (Y/N) is sleeping; one is a woman with long brown/blonde hair with a concerned look on her face and the other a young man with short black hair, his eyes moving in every direction to ensure they weren’t being watched.

The woman speaks up first, “It is hard to believe that this little angel, will cause such devastating damage to the nine realms.” the woman looks at little (Y/N) with loving eyes that only a mother would have.

“We can still go back.” The young man states with a reassuring tone.

“If we did that, she would be left to become a monster without knowing that there was another way to live.” The woman says shaking her head “No, we need to get her out of here now. Take her to Midgard; leave her somewhere safe, so she can be looked after by the humans.”

“Are you sure this plan will work? What if they find her, then it would have been all for nothing…” the young man says with a serious tone.

“Follow the instructions I have given you and everything will be fine, now lets get her out of here before someone comes to check on her.” The woman says as she gently pulls the covers on the bed back and moves for the young man to lift up little (Y/N) who curls into the young man’s chest as he holds her close.

Both the woman and young man walk back into the shadows, leaving the room and that planet. The scene changes and you find yourself observing the woman kissing the young man on the cheek as she whispers “Be quick and be sure to leave her with a decent family.” Suddenly she is surrounded by bright lights and disappears into thin air.

You watch as the young man begins walking towards a farm, it’s still night fall and chilly; you walk alongside the young man watching his eyes as they went from little (Y/N) and back to the little house to was walking towards.

Little (Y/N) stirs in the young man’s arms and you watch as he looks at little (Y/N) with a look of curiosity and intrigue, he moves one hand to brush the hair from little (Y/N)’s face; little (Y/N) opening her eyes and looking at the young man.

“Who are you?” little (Y/N) says in a hushed voice.

“You need not know my name little one, I will not harm you.” The young man states in a gentle tone.

“Where are we?” little (Y/N) states in a confused tone, looking around frantically; squirming to get out of the young man’s arms.

“Don’t worry little one, you’ll be alright; I’m taking you to your new family.” The young man says in a stern tone, signalling the end of the discussion.

“Why are you doing this?” little (Y/N) says tears running down her cheeks.

“It’s okay little one, you won’t remember any of this; I promise.” The young man states in a reassuring tone.

The young man lifts his hand and casts a spell over little (Y/N) and she goes limp his other arm, you watch the rest of the scene with an overwhelming pain in your chest.

Little (Y/N) is placed in a basket and blanket outside the door of the house, the young man knocks on the door and vanishes into thin air; you watch as a middle aged couple open the door and suddenly everything goes white…]

\-----------------------------------


	33. Chapter 32

“What was that Professor?” you say in a panicked tone, your eye intently on the Professor’s face.

“It seems you finally know where you came from, to some extent.” Professor Xavier states in a calm voice.

You go over the memory in your head for the next few minutes quietly; your eyes focused on the ceiling, the Professor simply waiting patiently for you to speak; finally after a while you look at the Professor.

“Please lock it away, lock it deep down so I don’t see it again…” you say, trembling slightly; fear and sadness washing over body, causing your body to shiver.

“Are you sure (Y/N)?” professor Xavier says in a gently and tranquil tone.

“Yes… Its part of my past, I don’t want it to be stuck in my mind. Wipe my mind of this session and lock away the memory… Please…” you practically beg the Professor.

“Alright (Y/N), calm down… I will lock the memory away, I promise.” The Professor says, looking a little pained as he raises his hands to place on either side of your head.

You feel this tingling sensation all over your body and you close your eyes, it almost feels like you’re floating; after a couple of minutes you open your eyes and see the Professor looking down at you.

“Professor what happened, why am I lying on your couch?” you say in a strained tone.

“You felt a little faint, so I let you lie down for a bit (Y/N); how are you feeling?” the Professor states in a kind tone.

\----------------------------------------------------------

 

Present Day

You practically bolt straight out of bed, sweating profusely; your whole body shaking and as you try to catch your breath. ‘Well this is a new development’ you think, making your way to the sink in the bathroom, to splash some cold water on your face.

Grabbing the face towel on the counter you gently pat your face dry, looking in the mirror you notice the dark circles under your eyes; ‘So Loki took me away from my family...’ you ponder ‘What am I though? I need to speak to Loki when I get back...’

Walking back into the bedroom, you get changed into your disguise, wincing slightly when pain shoots through your right shoulder and arm; you brush off the pain and focus on packing up all your belongs, since today is the final race for the championship and you planned on heading back to the Avengers compound straight after the race.

After you finish packing you head into the lounge, placing your bags by the door of the hotel room and head out onto the balcony to watch the sun rise; leaning on the railings you close your eyes and a smile spreads across your face, feeling the warmth of the sun on you, as the sun rose higher in the sky. Unfortunately that feeling you have is lost when you hear Happy calling from inside.

“I’m out here Happy.” You shout over your shoulder, taking one last look at the sun; pulling away from the railing and head back inside.

“I have to say (Y/N) you really took that bike for a ride last night...” Happy states in an impressed tone “Did you manage to distract yourself?”

You huff out a laugh “Yeah I managed something along those lines Happy, are we heading out already?” you reply with a sly smile ‘Happy would never forgive himself, if he saw what happened to me last night.’ You think over while walking up to Happy and hugging him.

“I suppose we can, I’ll have breakfast sent through to your dressing room at the race track.” Happy says, giving you a gentle squeeze while hugging you.

“Alright, so let’s blow this joint then.” You state with a wicked smile and pick up your bag, heading for the door; Happy following behind you laughing at your comment.

The ride to the race track is quiet, you feel yourself getting tired; which is strange because you usually go for days without any sleep and you still look like a rock star. Once the car pulls up by the race track, you sneak in while the camera guys and photographers are focused on the other drivers ‘No wonder they never get any good photos of me’ you think while laughing silently to yourself.

Once you get inside your dressing room, you find a coffee table in the corner with a beautifully laid out with a breakfast platter; you smile and turn to look at Happy who gives you a sweet smile.

“I thought you could use a home cooked breakfast today, after the bullshit that happened yesterday.” Happy says with a brotherly grin “Don’t worry I’ll watch your back.”

“Ah Happy, you’re my superhero.” You jokingly laugh “You know how to make a girl feel so loved, or are you just trying to butter me up to win today?”

Happy laughs “Firstly (Y/N) there is no way I could really butter you up, though it would be awesome to see you win today. And secondly, of course you’re the best person to try out my charming moves, since you’re so blatantly honest if I’m being a gentleman or not.” Shaking his head, when he sees you lift your eyebrows in feint surprised.

“Well then let’s dig in Happy, before the food gets cold.” You say and take a seat, motioning for Happy to join you.

You both eat in companionable silence; the food is absolutely amazing, truly Happy had some serious skills in the kitchen. Occasionally both of you would make eye contact and give each other cheesy smiles or you’d both randomly burst out laughing; since you both had so many inside jokes that could rival all the Avengers put together. All in all it was a tranquil and fun breakfast.

Happy finishes up and excuses himself, stating that he needed to go check on a few things while I got dressed in my racing suit.

“Thanks for the amazing breakfast Happy.” You say leaning back in the chair to stretch, sucking in a breath as the pain in your shoulder intensifies; thank goodness Happy doesn’t notice and he opens the door to the dressing room and closes it behind him.

The wound in is really becoming a problem ‘I’ll have to get Bruce to take a look at it, when I get back to the compound’ you ponder, as you get up from your seat and had over to the bathroom to get changed into your racing suit and mask.

You walk back into the dressing room and lie down on the couch and close your eyes for a couple of minutes; you don’t even hear Happy come back into the room, when he gentle nudges your left arm that is over your face.

“Hey (Y/N)...” Happy says in a gentle and sweet voice, you shift and move your left arm off of your face “Sorry to wake you up, but its 30 minutes until the race starts.”

“Seriously, how the heck did I land up sleeping for 3 and half hours?” you state sitting up on the couch. You quickly get up you practically lose your balance and almost fall onto the floor, but Happy grabs a hold of you and helps you sit on the couch again.

“Are you okay (Y/N)?” Happy asks in a concerned tone, his face getting pale.

“Yeah I'm okay Happy, just please pass me a bottle of water.” You say brushing off the feeling in your right arm; you take off your mask and give Happy a god honest smile, making him believe you are totally fine.

After you take a few small sips of water, you get up and put your mask and helmet on; heading out the door with Happy, making your way to the pits to get ready for the race. Once you’re strapped into your seat and the officials are calling for racers to the starting line, you take a deep breath and focus on getting through the 200 laps without allowing the wound on your right arm to distract you.

You pull off and take your place in the first starting position, since your time lap records went unchallenged; ‘These girls are going to be out for blood today.’ You deliberate, as you watch the rest of the qualifying racers line up.

Your legs are bouncing in excitement, as you watch the officials do one last check before moving off the track; focusing your eyes on the lights, readying your feet on the pedals as your adrenaline starts pumping through your body, as the light turns green and you speed off putting distance between you and the rest of the pack scoping up the lead position.

The first 75 laps go off without a hitch, you made your first pit stop at 50 laps and your crew didn’t disappoint; you were in and out in less than 15 seconds driving the crowd into frenzy, but that wasn’t what you were focused on as you pushed through your laps.

You were currently on lap 130 and you had the racer that attacked you yesterday trying to box you in and hit your car, in an attempt to throw you off for her to catch up with you; but you were way more experienced and skills, so you saw right through her antics. As you pushed through more laps, you could feel your strength leaving you, which was uncommon but you brushed it off and pushed yourself harder to finish.

Unfortunately, when you pull out of the pits for the last time to final off your last 20 laps, you didn’t realise things were going to take a turn for the worst in a sense; since the driver who attacked had caught up to you and was bullying the other drivers on the track in a bid to cause an accident to get you out of the race.

You decide in the best interest of the other racers who could get hurt, to quickly and skilfully manoeuvre around the other drivers; using a gap between two drivers to pull through the group and speed past them carving a clear path forward causing the aggressor to follow you.

Going full throttle you widen the gap, but as you’re about to pull a plan to get this crazy driver off the track; your mind goes blank as you get an earth shattering pain right through your right arm that causes you to swerve slightly right.

Not so fortunate for you, your aggressor caught up in your moment of distraction and slams into your car driving you into the barrier on the right; you shake your head trying to regain your focus almost screaming in pain.

Your mind clears within a couple of seconds and you slam on brakes as your aggressor tries to slam into your car again, causing her to hit full force into the barrier on the right and swerve left, spinning out control and landing on the grass area with the engine smoking, you put your car into gear and pull off at top speed to end this race now; the pain in your arm only mildly subsiding.

You don’t break your previous record, but you still make perfect time and win the race; but instead of driving into the winners circle with your car, you stop your car at the pits and quickly sneak into the building.

Happy catches up to you and he looks really worried; walking beside you he opens your dressing room door and shuts it behind both of you.

“(Y/N) are you okay? I was so worried.” Happy states almost on the verge of tears.

“I’m okay, just please give me a minute.” You reply walking to the bathroom and slamming the door shut.

You pull off your helmet and mask, and unzip your suit pulling your arms out of the sleeves; as you glance at your right shoulder you can see blood seeping through the bandage ‘SHIT!’ you almost scream.

Pulling the first aid kit out from the counter under the sink, you quickly cut off the blooded bandage and take a look over the wound; it’s not healing at all, if anything it’s getting worse. Unfortunately right now is not the time to deal with this, so you smear anti-bacterial cream all over the wound and re-bandage the wound tightly.

After you clean up the blooded bandage and mess, you put your arms back in and zip up your suit, putting on your mask and helmet; you head for the door as you hear a knock.

“I’m coming out Happy.” You say in as calm a voice as you can muster.

“We don’t have to go to the winner’s circle; we can leave if you want.” Happy states with apprehension.

“No, I’m not going to ruin Tony’s win; I’ll go to the winner’s circle, just please get everything into the car so we can leave as soon as it’s over.” You reply opening the dressing room door and walking out.

There is a whole ceremony to hand over the trophy to you, but your mind's not into it at the moment; it’s almost like your mind is on autopilot and you go through the motions, receiving the trophy from a handsome young man and raising the trophy over your head as the crowd cheers and screams in excitement.

You walk over to your pit crew and hand them the trophy for them to enjoy their time in front of the cameras and photographers, because they earned the win just as much as you did. You catch Happy waving his hand, indicating for you to follow him; which you do, nobody really notices you sneaking away and you climb into the car quickly, Happy driving both of you to the airstrip.


	34. Chapter 33

Steve’s POV

You wake up feeling a little uneasy ‘I hope (Y/N)’s okay.’ You think, slowly getting out of bed and make your way to the bathroom and get changed into sweatpants and a cotton shirt and head down to the gym to distract yourself for a few hours before the team gets together to watch the last day of the racing competition.  
As you close your apartment door you see Bucky walking out of his apartment, walking towards the elevator.

“Hey Buck, you’re up early.” You say in a calm voice.

“Yeah, I couldn’t sleep; things feel off. I gave up trying a few hours ago, thought maybe spending a couple of hours training would distract me enough until (Y/N) gets home.” Bucky states in a drained tone.

“I understand what you mean; I can’t seem to shake the feeling that something isn’t right with (Y/N). Hopefully she’ll be home tonight and we can at least know that she’s okay.” You explain in a concerned voice.

“You think that (Y/N) needs help Stevie?” Bucky states in anxious tone, just as he was stepping into the elevator. “(Y/N) texted me two days ago, maybe I should get my phone and text her to see if everything’s okay?”

“That sounds like an idea, I’ll keep the elevator on our floor while you get your phone.” You say with a smile.

You watch Bucky run back to his apartment door, opening the door and rushing in to get his phone; within a few minutes you’re both in the elevator on your way down to the training room. Once you had both gotten to the training room, you both sat on the bench near the entrance; you waited patiently as Bucky sent (Y/N) a text message.

After Buck sends the text message to (Y/N), you both get up from the bench and stretch before deciding to spar against each other to distract themselves while waiting for (Y/N) to respond to the text message.

“The message has been delivered yet, so we have some time to kill before she replies.” Bucky says while stretching his hamstrings.

“FRIDAY, is (Y/N)’s burn phone on at the moment?” you ask the AI system, while doing your final stretches.

“Miss (Y/N)’s burn phone is currently on, unfortunately she has not checked her phone Captain Rogers.” FRIDAY states in a neutral tone “Would you like me to get Miss (Y/N) on the line for you?”

“No that’s alright FRIDAY; we’ll wait for (Y/N) to contact us.” You say in a neutral tone.

“Of course Captain Rogers.” FRIDAY states and remains silent thereafter.

You take your starting position on the mat and nods at Bucky, who immediately lunges forward to trying to punch you in the face; you manage to dodge skilfully and reciprocate with a series of swings that Bucky in return, it’s almost half-hearted.

“You’re really not into this Bucky, maybe we should make the odds a little more interesting?” you say with a wide smile.

What did you have in mind Rogers?” Bucky states with a smirk on his face.

“Well how about, the person who submits or gets pinned has to wash the others motorbike?” you say with a sneaky smile; knowing that Bucky hated having to do others people chores.

“Oh that’s sounds fun, seems you’re going to have long day making sure my bike is in tip top shape.” Bucky replies with a cocky tone; which in turn makes you laugh. “You’re on punk.”

“Overconfident punk.” You state taking up your starting position again, as Bucky does the same.

You feel the atmosphere change between the two of you, as you both lunge towards each other trying to outdo the other; to get the upper hand in this match. This goes on for a couple of hours, no one willing to surrender; until Tony comes walking into the training room and stops dead in his tracks to watch you both trying to pin each other on the mat.

“In case you grandpas were wondering the race is going to start in an hour, unless the race isn’t as important as both of you feeling each other up on the mats.” Tony says with swaggering tone possible, with a smirk across his face.

“Hey we went weren’t feeling each other up Tony!” you almost shout, but your distraction of answering Tony; Bucky takes the opportunity to grab you and put you in a submission move that has you tapping out since Bucky always on with the move.

“Ha, just so you know Steve, I spend around 5 hours washing and polishing my bike; so prepare of half of your day to be booked tomorrow.” Bucky states with a wide grin on his face.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah…” you say meeting Tony’s gaze “This is your fault, you know that Tony.”

“Are you insinuating that I cheated you out of a win Capcisle?” Tony states in a shocked voice, his smirk giving him away.

“Hey now jerk, don’t blame Tony for you being distracted; and you were always like that, why’d you think I stuck around to protect your ass in the War?” Bucky says laughing and jumping back, as you turn to punch him on the shoulder.

“I’ll leave you guys, since I’m pulling out all the stops for our team activity; of watching my racer win today.” Tony says with a genuine smile.

“Alright Tony, we’ll be up there just now.” You state and motion for Bucky follow, as you all make your way to the elevator. Once the three of you are in the elevator, Bucky turns to Tony.

“So Tony when are you going to tell us, who your female driver is?” Bucky asks with a hit-eaten mile on his face.

That catches your attention ‘Since when is Bucky so interested in another woman besides (Y/N)?’ you ponder, but remain silent watching Tony and Bucky out of the corner of your eye.

“Wouldn’t you love to know Freezer pants? You can watch her race but you sure aren’t going to touch her.” Tony replies in an arrogant tone, a wide grin plastered in his face; a the elevator door open on the common room floor, you both watch Tony exit and the elevator door close taking you both to your floor.

You both make it to your shared floor and head towards your respective apartments to have shower, before making everyone in the common room to watch the final day of racing; Tony’s words playing on your mind as you ah all the sweat off your body.

You finally finish showering and get dressed, when you leave your apartment you see Bucky by the elevator already; so you make your ay over to Bucky as the elevator doors open.

“Hey Buck, any word from (Y/N) yet?” you ask with calm tone, smiling at your best friend.

“Still nothing Steve, I’m sure everything is fine.” Bucky says with a genuine smile “(Y/N) I the toughest girl on the team.”

“That’s no lie buddy.” You state with a laugh, both of you entering the elevator “Do you remember when Nat first tried to fight (Y/N) and Nat lot in like 3 minutes; I just never saw anything like it”

“Yeah I remember that, never thought I’d be so stunned and turned on all at the same time.” Bucky says with a smile “(Y/N) really is something else; I wish we had met her back in 1945.”

“I know what you mean Buck, but you and I were different people back then.” you state in a tender tone, not meeting Bucky’s eyes.

The elevator door open and you both make your way to the common room, each of you grabbing a beer and heading over to the couches; taking a seat beside one another.

“Finally, now that everyone is here we can watch the final race for the championship.” Clint says looking around “you better be ready to pay up Wilson, because your driver is going to lose.”

“I still can’t believe you guys took bets on these female drivers.” You state shaking your head.

“Come kids, let’s quieten down so we can all hear and see the race.” Tony says with a smile.

At the same time the commentator on the TV states that racers are lining up and you watch as Tony’s racer stops in first position at the starting line. Everyone goes silent as the race starts, everyone’ attention completely on the screen, you almost feel like your body is moving in response to Tony’s driver.

Everything is going great with the team watching race, people passing snacks to each other; you find yourself smiling as you watch this family you have enjoy each other company over racing, which isn’t a hobby or interest for everyone; unfortunately your mind I pulled back to the present as you watch one of the female drivers slam into Tony’s driver’s car.

“Oh my gosh!” you gasp watching Tony’s driver trying to get free from the other driver, the whole team going into a crazed frenzy of anger, shouting and screaming.

You’re about to try and calm everyone down, when catch a glimpse of the TV screen and see Tony’s driver out manoeuvre the other driver, causing them to crash everyone including yourself screaming and shouting in excitement.

‘This woman I totally amazing.’ you think ‘How did she get out of that mess so quickly?’

Everyone watches the last minutes of the race and jump up and down when Tony’s driver wins, everyone is so excited and cheering; though you notice Tony on his phone and you’re about to go over and ask him if everything’s okay, but he put his phone away and walks over to the bar to pour himself a drink while he smiles and laughs at everyone cheering happily.

“We are so having a party as soon as (Y/N) I home, so we can celebrate Stark industries win at the race tracks.” Tony says, while taking a sip of his Brandy.

“Alright Sammy bird, pay up since your dumb ass driver lost.” Clint says opening up his hand to get 50 bucks from Sam, you smile to yourself and shake your head.

\------------------------------------


	35. Chapter 34

Tony’s POV

You’re sitting in your lab tinkering with one of your suits when your phone starts to ring ‘ho would be calling me at this time of the evening?’ you wonder, picking up your phone and checking who the caller is.

“Happy, what’s up? Is everything okay?” you say with a concern tone.

“Hey Tony, I’m not sure if everything’s okay to be honest. After the incident that happened at the track with (Y/N), she started acting a little off after your time lap.” Happy states with worry “Once we got back to the hotel, (Y/N) asked me for the secure bag you gave me for emergencies and asked for a motorbike.”

“Did (Y/N) say why she wanted the bag and a ride?” you ask think of all the possible reasons, as to why (Y/N) needed your Avengers suit and weapons.

“(Y/N) said she wanted to take a small trip to cool off after the attack.” Happy says in a worried tone.

You know (Y/N) better than this, something like an attack by a driver wouldn’t have spooked (Y/N); for her to want a trip to cool off.

“Alright Happy, give her want she needs and I’ll keep track off her movements.” You state as you think about FRIDAY pulling up all footage of today’s time laps at the tracks.

“Will do Tony; I’ll let you know if anything out of the ordinary happens.” Happy says with a neutral tone.

“See you when you both get back.” You say hanging up the phone.

“FRIDAY bring up all footage and photos from the time laps today at the race tracks” you say, while you type up a message to send to (Y/N).

‘So Happy tells me you asked for the secure bag, anything I should know (Y/N)?’ you say.

‘I just need to distract myself; you know how it is sometimes Tony.’ (Y/N) replies.

Why would (Y/N) need to distract herself; it’s not like her, not even when freezer pants flirts with her. Clearly something’s up and she doesn’t want to talk about it.

‘Yeah I do, though I thought that’s why I sent you to drive for me (Y/N) :)” you respond.

‘I know, but after that incident today, I just want to blow off some steam; so I don’t take it out on the track tomorrow. I’ll keep my burn phone with me, just in case something happens.’ (Y/N) replies.

“Boss, I have all footage and photos from the tracks in the last 24 hours.” FRIDAY states in a neutral voice.

“Already, setup up the footage from the moment that (Y/N) arrived at the race track.” You state, as you type a response to (Y/N); letting her think you’re not reading too much into this situation.

‘Alright sweet cakes, just be careful and don’t be late for the race tomorrow; your sweetheart Tony :)’ you reply.

‘Hahaha Tony, you’re such a charmer. I’ll be there; you just get another shelf open for the new trophy.’ (Y/N) replies and you laugh to yourself, when you read the response; since the two of you get on like a house on fire.

You put your phone down on the table and bring up the track footage that FRIDAY setup for you as a hologram.

“FRIDAY seal off my lab and tint the glass, so no one knows what I’m doing and make sure to keep a check on (Y/N) vitals and location.” You say to the AI system.

“Of course boss.” FRIDAY’s voice comes over the system.

You start making head way on the video footage, looking out for anything that’s looks out of place that most people wouldn’t notice; you keep a close eye over the attack on (Y/N) and something catches your eyes in the corner on the stands.

Changing the angle of the hologram and zooming into the frame, you see two cloaked figures ‘what the fuck?! Who are those creepy cloaked bastards?’ you think “FRIDAY bring up (Y/N)’s current location, I want visual on her NOW.” You nearly shout at the AI system.

Within a few seconds FRIDAY has visual on (Y/N)’s location on hologram, low and behold (Y/N) is standing over one of the cloaked figures and the other lying motionless on the ground, they look like their talking; as you’re about to ask FRIDAY for audio both cloaked figures disappear.

“FRIDAY check (Y/N)’s vitals.” You tell the AI system.

“Right away Boss.” The AI system responds.

You carry on watching the visual you have on (Y/N), she seems to be walking fine; ‘But why is she holding her right arm?’ You wonder, just then FRIDAY gives you further information.

“Boss, the integrity of (Y/N)’s suit has been compromised on the right arm.” FRIDAY states impartial tone.  
“Alright keep a close eye on her vitals FRIDAY.” You say to the AI system.

“Of course Sir.” FRIDAY responds.

‘Shit, so (Y/N) got injured; damn it!’ you think; you keep watching the visual on (Y/N) until you know she’s safe at the hotel, but decide to text Happy in the meantime.

‘Happy, buddy sorry to wake you up at this hour; I need you to keep a close eye on (Y/N). Let me know if anything out the ordinary happens.’ You send to Happy.

‘Sure thing Boss, anything in particular I need to keep an eye out for?’ Happy replies back.

‘Just keep a lookout for anything in her physical appearance or in her behavioural patterns.’ You text Happy back.

‘I’ll make your breakfast in the morning and sit with her and see if she’s okay.’ Happy replies.

‘Thanks Happy, now get some sleep big guy.’ You respond.

Happy doesn’t reply after your last message and you’re left with an uneasy feeling about (Y/N)’s injury, you know that she’s one hell of a wild cat who can take care of herself; but for some reason the troubled feeling isn’t going away.

You tell FRIDAY to play your Hard Rock music playlist, also getting FRIDAY to arrange amazing snacks and food for the final racing day ‘Why not make it a team party so everyone has fun?’ you think. Moving to your workbench, you distract yourself by tinkering with parts of your suit until the sun is up.

Getting up from your work chair, you stretch your tired and sore muscles; you let out a heavy yawn and decide to see who’s up and about and let them know that everyone’s watching the final race day.

Making your way up to the kitchen, you find most of the team except the two old fossils from Brooklyn.

“Alright guys…” you state, but hesitant before continuing when you see Nat and Wanda give you a death glare “… And ladies, everyone is clearing their schedules to the final day of racing; snacks should be here in an hour and a half, so warp up whatever you’re doing, because everyone has to be there.”

“Really now, Tony? Do we really need to submit to your boasting and bragging of your racer?” Sam states in a partially offended tone.

“Oh I didn’t forget that you bet against my driver Wilson.” You state with a smirk “But betting aside, let’s just chill as a team and have fun; so we can all tell (Y/N) about the race when she gets back from her mission.”

“Since when, are you so motherly Tony?” Nat asks with a smirk on her face.

“Since you didn’t bother to come up with this little gathering for one of your BFF’s.” you retort catching Nat off guard.

“Oh damn did Tony just blind side Nat?” Clint asks as he looks at Sam and Bruce in total shock.

“Well Tony, we can’t all be billionaire’s have more money than we know what to do with.” Nat replies in a cocky tone.

“And there it is.” Clint says with a hearty laugh and everyone joins in.

“What did I miss?” T’Challa says as he walks into the kitchen.

“Well besides Tony and Nat’s verbal arguing, nothing much except the little chill party wants to have for the last race day.” Sam says with a smile.

“Well I’ve had enough of your guys for the moment.” You state as you head out of the kitchen heading towards the elevator.

“FRIDAY locate Rogers and Barnes please.” You say to the AI system.

“Captain Roger and Sergeant Barnes are in the training room.” FRIDAY states in a neutral tone.

“Also please let Loki and Thor know that they’re attending the chill party today in about an hour.” You state, as your mind drifts back to (Y/N) and her injury; but your mind is brought back to reality when FRIDAY answers you.

“Boss, Thor and Loki have stated that they will be returning to Asgard in 30 minutes to attend to matters there.” FRIDAY informs you.

You decide to leave them alone and make your way down to the training room to speak to Rogers and Frosty, as you walk into the training room you see both Barnes and Rogers grappling on the mat and you can’t help but smirk and watch them both. You decide now’s a good a time as any and decide to talk to them while they’re sparring.

“In case you grandpas were wondering the race is going to start in an hour, unless the race isn’t as important as both of you feeling each other up on the mats.” you say with swagger in your tone and a smirk on your face.

“Hey we went weren’t feeling each other up Tony!” Steve almost shouts, but in his distraction of answering you, you watch Bucky pin Steve to the mat for a win.

“Ha, just so you know Steve, I spend around 5 hours washing and polishing my bike; so prepare of half of your day to be booked tomorrow.” Bucky states with a wide grin on his face.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah…” you hear Steve state while meeting your gaze “This is your fault, you know that Tony.”

“Are you insinuating that I cheated you out of a win Capcisle?” you state in a shocked voice, your smirk going you away.

“Hey now jerk, don’t blame Tony for you being distracted; and you were always like that, why’d you I tuck around to protect your ass in the War?” Bucky says laughing and jumping back, as Steve turns to punch him on the shoulder.

“I’ll leave you guys, since I’m pulling out all the stops for our team activity; of watching my racer win today.” you say with a genuine smile.

“Alright Tony, we’ll be up there just now.” Steve states, motioning for Bucky follow.

As you all make your way to the elevator; once the three of you are in the elevator, Bucky turns to you.

“So Tony when are you going to tell us, who your female driver is?” Bucky asks with a hit-eaten mile on his face.

“Wouldn’t you love to know Freezer pants? You can watch her race but you sure aren’t going to touch her.” you reply in an arrogant tone, a wide grin plastered on your face; as the elevator door open on the common room floor, and you exit the elevator making your way to the common room.

Wanda, Vision, Sam, Clint and Nat all help with moving the couches around to face the big screen TV on the wall; setting up the snacks on the coffee table and side tables, using the bar as well since you ordered enough food for an army.

Eventually everyone besides Thor and Loki are seated in the common room munching on snacks and having a couple of casual drinks.

“Finally, now that everyone is here we can watch the final race for the championship.” Clint says looking around “you better be ready to pay up Wilson, because your driver is going to lose.”

“I still can’t believe you guys took bets on these female drivers.” Steve states while shaking his head.

“Come kids, let’s quieten down so we can all hear and see the race.” you say with a smile.

At the same time the commentator on the TV states that racers are lining up and you watch as (Y/N) stops in first position at the starting line. Everyone goes silent as the race starts, everyone’ attention completely on the screen.

You watch as the team watches the race while passing snacks to each other, it’s nice to watch everyone being so calm and happy around each other; but unfortunately this peaceful and fun atmosphere changes abruptly when you see (Y/N) get slammed into the barrier on the TV.

You’re practically out your seat, as you observe on horror as (Y/N) is pinned against the barrier; but your worry disappears as (Y/N) out manoeuvres the other driver, causing that driver to crash. Taking a deep breath, you watch the team scream and shout in excitement.

Everyone watching the last minutes of the race with baited breath and jumping up and down when (Y/N) wins, but your focus is elsewhere while you texted Happy with quick precision.

‘Happy, make sure (Y/N) is okay as soon as you get close to her.’ You text furiously.

‘Sure thing Sir, I’ll let you know as soon as I get her back to the dressing room.’ Happy replies.

‘And tell (Y/N) she doesn’t need to go to the winner’s circle, just get her on a plane and back home immediately.’ You respond.

‘Will do, Sir.’ Happy replies.

You put your phone away and make your way over to the bar ‘I really need a drink right.’ You think trying to calm your mind, since it’s doing overtime about the near accident and (Y/N)’s injury on her shoulder. Before anyone could suspect anything out of the ordinary you make a quick decision.

“We are so having a party as soon as (Y/N) I home, so we can celebrate Stark industries win at the race tracks.” you say, while taking a sip of your Brandy.

You walk out of the common room with your drink in hand heading to your lab, so you could get there updates from Happy.

Happy sends you a text not too long after you get to your lab.

‘Sir, I just saw (Y/N); she went straight into the bathroom and slammed the door shut. It might be an adrenaline rush.’ Happy states in his text.

‘Alright, just see if she’s okay. After she gets out the bathroom just check if she’s used the first aid kit.’ You reply.

‘I just knocked on the door; she’ll be out in a minute. I’ll try and get her to leave now and head for the airport.’ Happy responds.

‘Hopefully she won’t be stubborn.’ You reply.

After a few minutes you get a new text from Happy.

‘Sir, she went to the winner’s circle to get Stark Industries a bit of PR. I just checked the first aid kit and she has used it, would you like me to take her to the hospital?’ Happy states in his message.

‘No, don’t take her to the hospital; as far as (Y/N)’s aware we don’t know anything. Just get her back home as soon as possible.’ You respond.

‘I’ll get on the jet as soon as I can Sir.’ Happy responds.

You put down your phone and sigh, wiping your hand over your face ‘(Y/N)’s going to see Cho when she gets home; that much I can definitely see happening.’ You ponder and decide to send Dr Cho a text, letting her know that if (Y/N) comes to see her about an injury to let you know immediately.


	36. Chapter 35

You decide to change in the car, while Happy drives to the airstrip; so you both could the private jet to get back home. As you pulled your right arm out of your racing suit, you wince slightly; but what you failed to see was Happy watching you in the rear view mirror, Happy seeing your right arm bound with some blood seeping through the bandage and quickly looks away from the mirror.

You pack your racing suit away after changing into a pair of black skinny jeans, a navy long sleeve button up blouse with navy blue pumps. Once Happy pulls up next to the private jet, you quickly exit with your bag in hand before he gets a chance to get to your door; you sit down in one of the seats and poke around your bag for your burn phone.

When you unlock the phone you see a text message from Bucky.

‘Hey (Y/N), hope you’re okay and your mission is going well. You were right, watching racing is fun and Tony’s driver has been doing really well, we can’t wait for you to get home so we can tell you what happened at this year’s race.’ Bucky’s message reads.

You sigh ‘If you only knew half of what happened at this year’s race Bucky...’ you think with a shiver; taking a deep breath you begin typing a message.

‘Hey Barnes, I’m doing alright just feeling a tired. I can only image what happened at the races, if you guys are totally hooked on it. Take it easy :) Hopefully I’ll be home soon’ you message him back.

You put the burn phone down and watch as Happy takes his seat opposite you, you notice there’s something not right with the way that Happy is looking at you; it’s almost like he’s waiting for something to happen.

“Everything okay Happy?” you ask gauging his body language and response.

“Um... Yeah everything is alright; I was just worried about what happened at the tracks with the other driver. Are you sure you’re okay?” Happy speaks with a hesitant tone.

You decide to play off the situation at the tracks and plaster a big smile on your face when you reply.

“Well I had to give the fans something to tweet about, and having a bitch raging on the track seems to have done that.” You say laughing to lighten the mood.

As Happy is about to respond, your burn phone beeps notifying you of a text message; you get up and head to the back where the bedroom is. Unlocking the burn phone you see it’s a text from Bucky.

‘Hey (Y/N), I’m glad to hear that you’ll be back soon; it’s been different without you here. The racing competition had everyone going absolutely crazy :) Get some rest on the way back, if you can.’ Bucky texted.

You close the door to the bedroom and lie down on the bed, before you decide to reply to Bucky’s message.

‘I’m on my way back; hopefully I’ll be back at the compound by morning. Rest sounds like something fun; know where I can get some good rest Barnes?’ you texted Bucky back, with a smirk on your face.

‘Well if I wanted to be a real jerk, I’d say I’d show you when you got back, but since I’m trying to be a gentleman I’ll say that; I know it’s hard to get a peaceful nights rest, especially with what you have been through, but at least try and if all else fails then I’ll make you my famous hot chocolate when you get back to the compound :)’ Bucky replies.

You laugh at the thought that Bucky is trying not to flirt with you and shake your head.

‘I’m going to hold you to that hot chocolate Barnes, since it’s rare that anyone has tasted it besides Steve, Natasha and Wanda :) I’m going to try and catch a nap before I get home. Night Barnes :)’ you respond and put your burn phone next to you.

Trying to relax your body and mind to sleep is proving to be difficult especially with the wound that was becoming a serious problem. You start drifting off to sleep when you hear a knock at the door, getting up slowly you walk over to the door and open it; to find Happy waiting with a smile.

“What’s up Happy?” you say in a sleep tone.

“Nothing much, I just thought you’d want to have dinner before you go to bed.” Happy states with a grin.

“It’s okay Happy; I’m not feeling that hungry right now. I just want to get some shuteye before we get back to the compound.” You say just as you start yawning.

“Oh okay, if you need anything just call me and I’ll get you whatever you need.” Happy states in a courteous manner.

You close the door to the bedroom and walk back to the bed and climb on top of the covers, not even bothering to grab a blanket to put over you; sleep seems to find you easier than usual and you drift off into a peaceful and tranquil dream.

You manage to get a few hours of sleep, before a knock at the door wakes you up; Happy lets you know that the jet will be landing in the next 45 minutes. Rolling yourself out of bed and grab your burn phone, as you head to the bathroom to freshen up a bit; before you head back out and take your seat next to Happy, who gives you a million smile which makes you smirk at him.

“So what would you like to eat before we land (Y/N)?” Happy asks you with a friendly smile.

“Um... maybe just some apple juice and 2 slices of toast with butter?” you say in a mild tone, while you look out of the window to look at the first rays from the sun beginning to rise.

“Sure thing, champ.” Happy whispers with a smirk, getting up and heads over to the airhostess.

You watch is awe as the small rays of sun touch the clouds in the sky and it brings a smile to your face, it had been a while since you had gotten to watch the sunrise ‘I think I might just do that once I’m back at the compound.’ You think.

After a couple of minutes Happy returns to his seat with your toast and apple juice in hand, you smile gratefully and take it from him; digging in as you heard the pilot announce over the intercom that the jet would be landing in the next 30 minutes.

Happy engages in chatter with you about the championship you had won less than 24 hours ago, you both laughed and joked about the psycho female driver that hated you; before long the jet is landing and you climbing into the limo for Happy to take you back to the compound.

As Happy drives in silence, watching the road as he makes his way back to the compound; you sit near the window watching everyone starting off their day in the city, eventually the landscape changes to lush green trees and grass with wild flowers; you can’t help but feel like your home as Happy makes his way up the familiar path to the entrance of the compound, just as the sun has finished rising.

Once Happy comes to a complete stop, you climb out and give Happy a hug before you grab your bag from him and head into the compound; while he moves the car into the garage., you get to the elevator and press the button for the common room, leaving your bag near the elevator; so you can see who’s awake before you head up to your apartment.

You hear a couple of voice chattering in the common room, so you slowly and stealthy sneak up and watch from the doorway as Clint and Sam are talking smack while trying to beat the other in an xBox game; but you’re pulled from the scene when you hear a set of footsteps.

“(Y/N)?” Wanda almost squeals with joy, as you turn around.

“Hey Wanda, Nat. How are you both doing?” you state with a wide smile.

“I’m doing alright (Y/N), so how was this ‘secret’ mission you went on?” Natasha asks with a mixed tone in her voice.

As you make your way over to hug Wanda and Nat, you reply.

“Well you know how it goes, it’s either easy or hard.” You say, not giving anything away. “So girls, how have things been here, while I was away?”

But before you can get an answer you hear full blown chaos break out in the common room, the three of you run into the common room to find Sam and Clint at each other’s throats. So you throw yourself into the fray to separate them, which seems to work fine; as they’re both so excited to see that you’re back home.

“So I’m gone for almost a week and you both try to kill each other?” you state, while shaking your head in dismay.

Nat is holding on tightly to Clint, to keep him away from Sam and Wanda is doing the same with Sam.

“Hey it’s not my fault that Sam doesn’t know how to win a bet?” Clint chimes in with a smirk on his face.

“Did you guys bet money?!” you shout, both men stop trying to get at each other and look at the floor “Who initiated the bet?” you ask them, waiting for an answer.

“That would have been me sweet cakes.” Tony pipes up as he walks into the common room.

“Only you would have the balls to bet money while I was gone.” you state in a stern tone, but soon smirk when you see Tony flailing hurt with a hand over his chest. “I think I’m going to freshen up quickly.”

“Are you going to join us for breakfast?” Wanda asks in a gentle tone.

“I sure am; I wouldn’t miss watching the guys going totally savage over food.” You state with a laugh, as Nat and Wanda burst out laughing at your response.

You wave to everyone as you make your way to the elevator, grabbing your bag and making your way up to your apartment without seeing anyone else.

Once you make it to your apartment, you lock the door and head to your bedroom and unzip your bag and throw your dirty laundry in the hamper by the bathroom door; you grab a pair of denim shorts and a long sleeve black hoodie and underwear before heading to the bathroom to wash the past few days away.

After you take off your navy blue blouse, you notice that your right arm is still bleeding through the bandages again ‘Shit how am I going to fix this without anyone finding out?’ you think, feeling almost panicked.

You remove the bandages and see the wound is oozing ‘I’m going to have to see Bruce or Dr Cho today... Seems like I have no choice now; but to talk to someone.’ You ponder with a sigh, throwing the used dressings into the bin.

You strip the rest of your clothes off and get into the shower, turning the hot water up until you felt like your skin was burning and tingling; hopefully this would give you time to think of how to not make Bruce or Dr Cho panic, when they saw this wound.

The hot water seems to do you good and your muscles are feeling less tense, and a knock on the bathroom door disturbs your mind from the fuzzy feeling of the steam in the room.

“Who is it?” you ask, with a hint of hesitation.

“It’s Nat. I just wanted to check if you were okay? We’re going to sit down for breakfast.” Nat states in a neutral tone.

“Oh right, I’ll be there in 5 minutes Nat.” You say turning off the water and grabbing a towel, to dry yourself off.

“Okay, don’t take too long; otherwise you’re not getting any breakfast.” Nat says, laughing at the thought.

You listen carefully as you catch Nat’s footsteps leaving your bedroom; after you hastily dry yourself off, you put on your underwear and grab the first aid kit from under the sink and do a quick patch up of the wound on your right arm ‘Hopefully tighter compression on the wound will limit the blood and ooze’ you think, as you finish bandaging the wound.

Quickly pulling on your denim shorts and black hoodies, the hoodies should hide the fact that you were nursing a wound; you throw your towel and dirty clothes into the hamper, before putting on strap on sandals and heading out of your apartment.

You press the button for the elevator and wait for the elevator to get to your floor; you get into the elevator and head for the kitchen and common room floor.

As you get closer to the kitchen you hear a lot of chattering and laughs, you stop for a minute and almost feel like you’re intruding on a family moment; you feel like an outsider, especially not telling anyone about your wound and the two cloaked figures.

You’re brought out of your thoughts as you notice a head pop around the corner.

“Hey we were just about to send out a search party to find you.” Clint says with a grin.

You laugh as you see Clint turn around and shout “Hey, stop stealing food Tony, (Y/N)’s here.”

Making your way into the kitchen you find the dining table setup and everyone there, giving you a big smile.

“Welcome home (Y/N)!!!” everyone shouts, you shake your head and laugh.

“You guys are acting like I’ll been gone for years...” you say, as you take a seat between Bruce and Tony, opposite Bucky. Bucky gives you his winning smile and a small wave.

You smirk and waves back mouthing a ‘hello’, but that little moment is short lived when Sam pipes up and shouts “Woah, (Y/N) did just pull a move on Frosty?”

Everyone stops what they’re doing to look at both of you, you notice Steve looking at you; almost like he’s in pain.

“Since when is saying hello pulling a move Wilson? And last time I checked you literally did the same thing to me when I first arrived at the compound.” You laugh when you see Sam blushing, remembering his totally embarrassing moment when you finally became an Avenger.

Everyone bursts out laughing and you can’t help but join in, as everyone digs into the amazing breakfast; you catch Nat and Wanda’s eye as you three quickly pick what you want for breakfast and watch in amazement and hidden laughter, as the guys go totally crazy cleaning out all the platters on the table.


	37. Chapter 36

You don’t finish your breakfast, the fact is you are losing your appetite as the wound gets worse; it has to be linked, but as you’re trying work through things in your mind, you feel something hit your face.

“Oh shit, you are in for it now!” T’Challa says and slowly gets up from the table, backing away from Clint and Sam.

You wipe off the substance that hit you square in the face, you see its oatmeal; but before you even get up from your seat you see food flying through the air, hitting Sam and Clint respectively, as they try to get out of their seats.

You look in shock to find Bucky and Steve looking down at their plates pretending to eat the last of their breakfast; you can’t help but laugh, getting up from your seat and taking your plate to the kitchen sink.

“(Y/N) are you okay?” Wanda asks with a concern tone.

‘Wanda, get yourself, Vision, Nat and Bruce out of here; cause a full out food war is going to happen with Sam, Clint, Bucky and Steve’ you think and you watch as Wanda’s eye go wide.

“Yeah I’m fine; I’m going to check on my baby. I’ll see you guys later.” You state in the sweet tone and head out of the kitchen, making your way to the elevator. While you’re waiting for the elevator you turn to see Wanda, Nat, Vision and Bruce almost running from the kitchen as loud shouts erupt from the kitchen area.

You can’t help but smile and shake your head as they catch up to you.

“Thanks for the save, (Y/N).” Bruce says in a gentle tone, with a smile.

“Well what can I say; I think I know how most of the team works. And besides I don’t think we needed to see the Hulk because of flying food.” You say in a gracious tone.

“Well at least Nat, would have been able to calm him down.” Wanda chimes in, laughing as Vision puts his arm around her.

“Wanda would you like to go for a walk?” Vision states in a matter of fact tone.

“Of course Vis, will you faze through the building with me?” Wanda says with a smile.

“Anything for you, Wanda.” Vision says, you swear that if he could blush; he would turn an even darker shade of red.

You, Nat and Bruce watch as Vis picks Wanda up bridal style and fazes through the building heading towards the forests just outside the compound.

The noise from the kitchen intensifies and Nat shakes her head and states “I’m going to make sure they don’t try and kill each other.”

Bruce gives Nat a kiss on the cheek and wishes her luck, as she gives her signature assassin smile; heading back to the kitchen.

“Hey Bruce?” you say in a whisper.

“Yeah (Y/N)?” Bruce replies.

“Um... do you have a couple of minutes to check something out for me?” you state in a cautious voice.

“Sure thing, what do you need?” Bruce asks with a curious tone.

“Maybe we could go to your lab?” you say, indicating on the matter of privacy.

“Of course, let go.” Bruce says just as the elevator arrives at your floor, you both get in and Bruce presses the button for his lab. ‘Thank goodness Bruce has his own lab away from Tony.’ You think.

Bruce notices how quiet you are, but he doesn’t push the subject any further; since he knows you well enough to know that you would not ask him to check something out alone unless it was serious. You both ride the elevator down to the lab’s, once you both walk into Bruce’s lab you turn to Bruce and you nod; which Bruce smiles gently and returns the nod.

“FRIDAY please seal off Bruce’s lab and turn off all audio and video footage.” You state in a neutral voice.

Bruce looks at you with a concerned expression, which you don’t miss.

“Bruce, I just don’t want anyone else to know about what I’m going to show you right now.” You say in a gentle voice.

Bruce nods and you take off your hoodie and take a seat on the exam table; you watch as Bruce eyes the bandage over your body to your right arm, Bruce moves over to a cabinet to get his first aid kit; he walks over to the exam table and places the kit on the table and opens it up.

“I’m just going to cut the bandage off your arm, is there any information I need to know before I examine what’s under the bandage?” Bruce asks in a serious tone.

You take a deep breath and hunch your shoulders “It’s a stab wound, but I two guys I fought aren’t from earth; I don’t know where they come from. The most that I can figure out is that the last I guy I killed, must have gotten his own blood on his knife before he stabbed me.” You say looking at the floor.

“It’s okay (Y/N), we’ll figure it out.” Bruce says in a tender manner, that easies the tension you’ve been holding since that fight happened. “When did this injury happen?”

Bruce grabs the scissors and begins to cut away the bandage, you almost grimace knowing he’s going to be irritated that you didn’t try and get this sorted sooner.

“I got this injury nearly 2 days ago.” You whisper, meeting Bruce’s eyes as he looked from the wound and at you in total shock.

“(Y/N) this is getting serious, I don’t know if there is anything I can do to fix this.” Bruce states in a sombre tone “The best I can do is to take samples of the discoloured skin and the blood, and test it to try to find a way to heal you. I’ll give Helen a call and send through samples as well, to see what she comes up with.”

“Thanks Bruce, I know you’ll do what you can. Now let’s get this done shall we.” You state with a small smile, trying to keep the mood as relaxed as possible.

Bruce gives you a reassuring smile and proceeds to get his equipment to get skin and blood samples; you watch in thankful amazement at how at home Bruce seems in the lab. He finally returns to your side, and lays out his equipment on the side of the table.

“Alright (Y/N), I’m going to be as gentle as I can. Before I start, have you experienced any pain from this wound?” Bruce asks meeting your eyes.

You keep quiet remembering the searing pain you had while you were racing, but you couldn’t tell him that; so you settled for a form of the truth.

“Yeah, I’ve had random intense pains.” You answer his question with a slight frown.

“Okay, I’ll get everything I need and I’ll make a pain relief concoction for you until we have a solution to this wound.” Bruce says with a smile and sets to work, while you watch in silence.

Bruce moves in fluid motions, while getting skin samples of the affect area of the wound and the blood samples; his eyes moving with intense concentration at how the wound looks and smells, he has a look on his face like something was making his brain tick.

“Hey Bruce, something troubling you?” you ask in curiosity.

Bruce looks at you and shakes his head and resumes his work, after a couple of minutes he grabs a glass slide and puts a small amount of blood on it and heads over the microscope to take a look at the sample.

You take a deep breath and wait in silence working over everything that has happened, but your thoughts are interrupted while the door of the lab opens and Tony walks in. Grabbing your hoodie you try to hide your arm from him, but it’s a lost cause as you almost scream in pain from the wound.

“(Y/N)! Shit, I’m coming.” Bruce shouts and runs over to you, as Tony runs over as well.

“What are you doing here Tony?” you whisper, as Bruce prepares a local anaesthetic to numb your arm.

“(Y/N) did you really think I didn’t know what happened to you?” Tony states in a matter of fact tone “FRIDAY has been giving updates on your wound and condition.”

You look at Tony with a shocked expression; but it changes when you see Tony looking at you with a wide smile on his face.

“Seems that I can’t fool you like the others.” You say with a small smile.

Bruce walks up to you the syringe, Tony holds your arm for Bruce to injection the anaesthetic into your arm; your eyes shutting as it enters your system.

“Okay, just give it a few minutes and you shouldn’t feel anything (Y/N); I’m just going to quickly analyse on the sample I took.” Bruce says as he walks over to the microscope.

“So, why didn’t you tell me sweet cakes?” Tony says in a serious tone.

“You know why, you tend to worry over me way too much.” You say in a flattering tone.

“Oh you’re not getting off so easily with trying to butter me up (Y/N).” Tony says with a smirk “I know about the whole attack in the forest, and every time you tried to hide it from me or Happy. Now care to tell me about the two cloaked figure you were fighting?”

You look at the floor and take a deep breath; seems like Tony was not going to let this go, so you had to give him something to satisfy his interest.

“Look, I don’t know who the two figures were I’ve met them on two previous occasions before this; way before I joined the Avengers. The first time they came to me was over a 100 years ago, they started telling me about where my real was and about my ‘parents’ who had been looking for me; for years.” You say, while you rub your hands together to keep them warm.

Tony walks over to one of the cabinets and pulls out a blanket, walking back over to you and places it over your shoulders and smile at you.

“I’m surprised you didn’t just keep looking at my body Tony.” You say with a smirk on your face.

“I would normally, but right now you need to keep warm while Bruce looks over that sample. So what happened when they first confronted you?” Tony says with a concerned tone.

“They tried to force me to go with them, back to wherever my supposed parents were. I managed to get away from them back then, so I stuck to staying away from the cities and town; with my partner. I told him about it, so he kept me safe.” You said with a quiet laugh, smiling when you see Tony quirking an eyebrow at you.

Before Tony could respond, Bruce comes over and runs his hand through his curly grey, black hair and stands in front of you.

“So what’s the verdict Banner?” Tony says with a smile “Is (Y/N) going to live?” Tony further jokes.

“I’m not sure Tony.” Bruce looks at the floor “It looks like that foreign substance from the figure that attacked you, is slowly infecting your body; I’m going to get in contact with Helen Cho and ask her to consult on this. This is going to be a hell of a challenge, but what I can do for now it subdue the pain and keep a close eye on the wound until we can get a fix for this.” Bruce sighs not wanting to meet your eyes.

“Hey Bruce.” You say, putting your arm on his shoulder “It’s okay, I’ll be okay; I’ve had more years then I’d care to count, so if it’s my time then so be it.”

“Don’t you dare say that (Y/N)!” Tony shouts and stands up, pacing up and down.

“Tony, you don’t need to get upset; I didn’t say I’d just roll over and die, I know Bruce and Cho will do everything in their power to fix this.” You gesture to your right arm “Bruce if you don’t mind could we dress this wound, because I really want to go see my baby.”

“Sure thing (Y/N).” Bruce says with a subtle smile, as he opens the first aid kit and preps and cleans the wound; places enough gauze to soak up the blood and ooze. After a couple of minutes Bruce is cleaning up the table and putting away the first aid kit, while you pulled your hoodie over your head.

Tony had been silent the whole time, still pacing up and down; but stops when you place a hand on his shoulder and he’s pulled him from his thoughts.

“Hey it’s going to be fine Tony.” You say with a smile “I have faith in Bruce and Cho, and so should you.”

Tony moves closer and hugs you, and you find yourself smiling and whispering in his ear “I’m not going anywhere you sex crazed animal.”

Tony gives a whole hearted laugh that has you shaking and you laugh with him; as he releases you, you climb off the table and head over to Bruce with Tony following suit.

“I only have one favour to ask both of you.” You state and wait for both men to nod in acknowledgement “Please don’t tell anyone about this, not until we know exactly what is happening with this wound.”

“I promise (Y/N).” both Bruce and Tony say in unison.

You hug them both, and make your way over to the lab door and ask FRIDAY to unlock the door; you walk over to the elevator and press the down button, the elevator arrives within a few seconds and you make your way down to the garage.


	38. Chapter 37

Once you get out of the elevator you walk over to the security case that houses all the keys for the bikes and cars in the garage, which includes the keys for one of your sweet, sexy babies that you own.

Grabbing the keys to your 1967 Ford Shelby Mustang 500 (in Black), your 2015 Ford Mustang GT Hennessey HPE 750 Supercharged (wrapped in black mat) and your cute Kawasaki EX500 Ninja (in Black), heading over to your Shelby, you get in to start the engine and let it run for a while, as you get the equipment you need to wash your babies from the storage closet; since it had been about a month since you gave them a good cleaning.

You ask FRIDAY to play your mixed music playlist for those days, when you couldn’t decide on which music era you want to listen to; FRIDAY starts playing your list as you turn the ignition off and start cleaning the inside of the car, after around 30 minutes of hard and thorough cleaning the inside of the Shelby looks perfect; climbing out of the car you close the door and start rinsing down the Shelby.

After rinsing off your car you get a bucket of soapy water to wash the Shelby with; your mind is so distracted by the music and you’re so focused on scrubbing the Shelby clean, that you don’t see or hear Steve walking into the garage.

“Hey (Y/N).” You hear Steve call, you stop washing the Shelby and turn around.

“Hi Steve, am I in your way?” you ask with a smile.

“Nah, it’s okay. So is this where you came to hide after the food fight in the kitchen?” Steve states with a smirk.

“Not a chance Rogers; I just wanted to spend some time with my amazing babies?” you say with motherly tone.

“I have to say, I’ve never heard a woman talk about a car or bike let you do.” Steve says with a laugh, rubbing the back of his neck.

“What can I say, I’m not like most women.” You say laughing whole-heartedly.

“That is true (Y/N), you really are something else.” Steve says, giving you an innocent smile.

“So you going to tell me, what you’re doing down here Steve?” you say with a smile.

“Oh, um... I’m supposed to be working off a bet I lost.” Steve says looking at the ground, while running his fingers through his hair.

“What is it with the guys on this team, taking bets while I’m away.” you state, shaking your head “I really thought you would be the exception to the rule Steve” you smile at Steve and laugh.

Steve meets your eyes and laughs with you, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

“Yeah, I’m not that lucky when it comes to bets…” Steve says rubbing his neck, but still looking at you with a smile.

“So what’s your punishment for losing that bet?” you state with a curious tone, looking intently at Steve.

Steve shakes his head and looks at the floor but answering “Well Tony distracted me during a sparring match with Bucky and I got pinned; the bet was that whoever got pinned had to wash the others bike.”

“Well that was a hell of a way to lose Steve.” you state with a mischievous smirk.

As you carry on washing your Shelby, Steve watches you for a minute or two before he speaks again.

“Can I help you with the Shelby (Y/N)?” Steve asks in kindly tone.

You stop washing your car and look up at Steve, the look on his face is just relaxed and warm; his eyes lighting up with a flicker of hope.

“Sure why not, your punishment for losing your bet with Barnes can wait.” You say with a cocky tone “I’m sure that if Barnes comes to check on your progress, that I can convince him to wash his own bike.” You state with a laugh, as Steve looks on in shock; but starts laughing with you.

“That I totally believe; he would do anything for you (Y/N).” Steve says with a hesitant voice.

You are taken aback by Steve’s confirmation of the lengths that Barnes would go to for you; you shake it off by throwing an extra sponge at Steve, which he catches and gives you a big smile.

Both of you falling into a comfortable silence while washing the Shelby, Steve working on the one side and you on the other; as you both were finishing up washing the Shelby, you decide to throw a bit of soapy water at Steve and chuckle at his expression of shock, but unfortunately that didn’t last long as Steve tried to throw the remaining water from the bucket at you.

You take off running and laughing as Steve takes off after you, you know full well that you can’t outrun a super-soldier, so you turn around and hold your arms out ready to take your punishment; Steve is caught off guard by you surrender that he stops running and just looks at you.

“(Y/N), since when do you give up so easily?” Steve asks interest in his voice, quirking his eyebrows.

“Well there was no way in hell, I was going to get away; so I decided it’d be easier to just take my punishment.” You states with a sweet smile.

Steve looks at you, like there was something he didn’t get; but he doesn’t say anything to you, instead he walks towards you, stopping as the binding rings take effect.

“Let’s get back to the Shelby, your baby needs to be wiped down properly or there’s going to be marks on it.” Steve says, nudging his head in the direction of your Shelby.

“Wow, you really aren’t going to punish me for throwing soapy water on you?” you state in a shocked tone.

“No, what’s a little soapy water on my shirt and face; when I get to spend a little time with you.” Steve says in a lowly voice, as a soft blush starts creeping into his cheeks.

“Ah Steve, did you just try your hand at flirting?” you say in a joking tone, laughing as the blush in his cheeks creep down his neck “Come on big, fella. I still have my GT Hennessey and Kawasaki Ninja to wash.” You state, as you make your way back towards the Shelby.

Steve follows behind at a distance; both of you smiling at each other while wiping down the Shelby. Your mind feeling relaxed as a song catches your attention from your playlist and you can’t help but sing along; but what really gets your attention is that Steve is singing along in a soft voice.

As you finish wiping your side of the car, you pipe up saying “So you like Frank Sinatra?” you say with a smug look on your face.

Steve finishes his side and looks up at you and smiles, his cheeks going pink again as he replies “Yeah, I like Frank Sinatra’s music; but I never got to dance to it back in the day, since the girls in the 40’s really only want to dance with Bucky or other handsome guys, I never managed to get their attention.”

Steve looks at the floor and rubs his neck, causing you to feel sorry for him; so you decided to turn this sour moment into something a little more fun.

“Well it was their lose anyway.” You say with a smile, Steve looking up at you in shock “If they were going by looks alone, then I can take any easy bet and say that at least half of them had cheating husbands.” You state with a laugh.

Steve looks a little shocked at your statement, but can’t help but laugh at your comment; you walk over to Steve and pull him into a hug, you feel Steve tense up at first, but he relaxes and exhales a deep breath.

As you pull away you see Steve looking at you, there’s a spark in his eyes that wasn’t there before; you know better than to ask him ‘It’s the same look Bucky has in his eyes, when he looks at you.’ You think.

“Thank for the extra set of hands Steve.” You say in a gentle tone.

You start making your way over to the Hennessey, before you unlock your car; you turn around to find Steve staring at you with a confused look on his face.

“Are you okay Steve?” you say with concern.

“Did I do something to upset you (Y/N)?” Steve says looking at the floor, before he chances a glance at you.

“Why would you say that Steve?” you say taken aback by Steve’s question.

“Well you thanked me for helping you with the Shelby, and walked off. I thought maybe I had upset you and you didn’t want my help anymore.” Steve admits, blushing slightly.

“Oh… No Steve, I didn’t mean like that; I just thought maybe you might have had other things you wanted to get done. If you want to stay and help me with the Hennessey and Kawasaki, you are more than welcome to.” You say feeling bad for making Steve think he did something wrong “Look if I’m ever upset you, I’ll be sure to let you know, okay?”

Steve gives you a smile and nods, grabbing all the equipment and bringing it over to the Hennessy; while you rethinking your washing strategy, coming up with a compromise.

“Steve could you wash the outside of the Hennessey, while I clean the inside?” you say with a smile “It’ll be easier for me to move inside the car, than it would be for you.”

“Sure (Y/N), I don’t mind.” Steve pipes up with a grin on his face.

You grab everything you need to clean the inside of the car and climb in closing the door behind you, as you begin cleaning; you see Steve working to turn on the high pressure cleaner, as you open the door and climb out to help him; he presses the handle and lands up wetting you.

Steve drops the handle or the pressure cleaner apologizing profusely “(Y/N) I’m so sorry, I was trying to get the water to come out, but I didn’t know how.” Steve tries to walk over to you, but he can’t get close.

You look at his shocked expression and can’t help but laugh; he really was such an innocent and sweet guy.

“It’s okay Steve, we’re even now.” You say with a smile as you use part of your hoodie to wipe your face dry, Steve still looks unconvinced so you chime in “Steve let me show you how to work the pressure cleaner properly, just in case you land up doing this to Nat or Wanda; because they won’t be as forgiving.” You state with a whole-hearted laugh.

This seems to ease Steve conscious, you explain how to work the pressure cleaner and you let Steve try a few times; before you feel ready to leave him alone with the pressure cleaner. After Steve assures you that he can manage, so you get back into the car and carry on cleaning inside; while Steve cleans the outside.

You both finish in record time, with moments of you making funny faces while he cleans the windows; which have both of you in stitches. Once you both finish, you both take a couple of minutes to sit on the floor and relax for a bit; you’re about to suggest getting lunch, but you’re interrupted when the elevator opens and Bucky comes walking out.

Bucky doesn’t notice you and Steve sitting on the floor, so you gesture to Steve to get the high pressure cleaner ready when he sees Bucky as well. You both take up positions behind one of Tony’s Ferrari’s, waiting for Bucky to walk pass; surprisingly he still hasn’t noticed either of you.

“Hey Punk…” Bucky yells “You better not be getting my bike more dirty than it already is.”

You give Steve thumbs up when Bucky is in the perfect place, and you take the lead.

“Hey Barnes, what brings you down to the garage?” you ask innocently with a smile.

Bucky turns around and faces you.

“Oh, hey (Y/N). I was looking for… AH!!!! Shit!!!” Bucky shouts, as Steve wets Bucky from head to toe in water from the pressure cleaner.

“You damn Punk!” Bucky roars, as he turns around to take off after Steve.

“Wait Barnes.” You say; to get Bucky’s attention and as he turns around you throw the soapy water in the bucket on Bucky; catching him completely off guard.

Bucky blinks in shock at you, as the soapy water soaks his clothes further.

“Really… So you were in on this (Y/N)?” Bucky says, wiping his face with his hand.

“Um, actually I planned this myself; Steve was simply an accomplice.” You say, trying to hide your smile.

Bucky sighs and shakes his head, as Steve walks up to both of you.

“Hey Buck, that’s a new look for you.” Steve says with a shit-eating grin on his face.

“Yeah, yeah jerk. So is my bike washed?” Bucky pipes up.

“Well actually, I was going to...” Steve says rubbing his neck with his hand.

“Why don’t we head up for some lunch.” You say with a sweet smile, as you make eye contact with Steve.

“That sounds like a plan.” Bucky states with a big smile.

Steve puts down the pressure cleaner and makes his way towards the elevator with you in tow; what you both fail to see is Bucky grabbing the pressure cleaner, creeping his way behind you guys, wetting you and Steve from head to toe; while you both run for cover from Bucky.

“Damn punk.” Steve says as he hides behind one of the Avenger’s SUV’s.

“Shit, damn it Barnes. Was that really necessary?” you say running your hands through your hair.

“Well payback is a bitch guys. Maybe next time you’ll think your plan through when you try to prank me; though I have to say you look good like that (Y/N).” Bucky states with a smirk plastered on his face.

“Okay, fair enough; you got Steve and me fair and square. Though I had planned on making us all lunch, but now you can go find your own lunch.” You chime in as you make your way toward the elevator.

Bucky drops the pressure cleaner so fast, you stifle a laugh; watching Steve shake his head as he steps away from the SUV he took for cover.

“Ah come on doll, please can I have whatever you’re making for lunch? Please?” Bucky says in a beseeching tone, using those puppy dog eyes that he hoped would work on you.

You can’t help but laugh because those actions from him don’t work, since there were feelings laced in with that action.

“Barnes you know puppy dog eyes don’t work on me; but I tell you what, you can join Steve and me for lunch and we’ll discuss how you can make up for it later.” You say, sniggering as the elevator arrived at the garage level.

The three of you get in, everyone agreeing to head to their respective apartments to change into dry clothes before heading to the kitchen.

Once you get off at your floor, you make your way to your apartment and close the door behind you. Grabbing an old pair of leggings, ¾ sleeve top and a new pair of underwear; since Bucky had ensured you had gotten the brunt of the water, while Steve high-tailed it out of there.

You head to the bathroom, leaving the door open; you strip down and climb into the shower, letting the warm water run down your body; you close your eyes and let your muscles relax, as the water soothed your muscles.

The feeling doesn’t last long, as you feeling an intense pain spike from the wound up into your shoulder and neck; causing you to hunch in on yourself, holding your arm with your left hand. ‘Damn it, this is getting annoying now.’ You think and huff in frustration, turning off the water and grabbing your towel.

You check over the dressings on the wound while drying off ‘Bruce really did a good job, this new type of dressings, that Bruce and Tony developed are pure genius.’ You ponder with a smile, get dressed after towel drying your hair and quickly brushing it; you throw your wet clothes and towel into the laundry hamper.

Grabbing your phone, you make your way down to the common room level; getting to the kitchen, finding it empty; just the way you liked it. You go to the pantry and grab what you need, then heading to the fridge and grabbing the last of the ingredients you need to make macaroni and bacon in a cheese sauce for lunch.

You ask FRIDAY to play music from the 80’s, you felt like enjoying songs you could sing along to while cooking; you get started on lunch singing along to a Bon Jovi song, you feel yourself get comfortable enough to sway a little you check on the pan with bacon, pots with the pasta and the cheese sauce. Hopefully you could get the food ready before the super-soldiers arrived.


	39. Chapter 38

Steve’s POV

‘I still can’t believe I lost to Bucky.’ you think shaking your head, while you make your way down to the garage to wash Bucky’s bike, since you lost the bet yesterday. As the doors of the elevator open you make your way to grab everything you need to wash the bike, but you stop dead in your tracks when you see (Y/N) washing her Ford Shelby Mustang.

‘Wow she looks beautiful even cleaning a car’ you think with a smile, so you decide to approach her “Hey (Y/N).” You say with a smile, watching as (Y/N) stops washing the car and turns around.

“Hi Steve, am I in your way?” (Y/N) asks with a smile.

“Nah, it’s okay. So is this where you came to hide after the food fight in the kitchen?” you state with a smirk.

“Not a chance Rogers; I just wanted to spend some time with my amazing babies?” (Y/N) says with motherly tone.

“I have to say, I’ve never heard a woman talk about a car or bike let you do.” You say with a laugh, rubbing the back of your neck.

“What can I say; I’m not like most women.” (Y/N) says with whole-hearted laugh.

‘You sure aren’t (Y/N).’ You think. “That is true (Y/N), you really are something else.” you say, giving (Y/n) an innocent smile.

“So you going to tell me, what you’re doing down here Steve?” (Y/N) pipes up with a smile.

“Oh, um... I’m supposed to be working off a bet I lost.” you say looking at the ground, while running your fingers through your hair; you had forgotten that (Y/N) wasn’t a big fan of betting.

“What is it with the guys on this team, taking bets while I’m away.” (Y/N) states, shaking her head “I really thought you would be the exception to the rule Steve” (Y/N) smiles at you and laughs.

You meet her eyes when you hear (Y/N)’s laugh and laugh with her, shifting your weight from foot to foot.

“Yeah, I’m not that lucky when it comes to bets…” you say rubbing your neck, but still looking at (Y/N) with a smile.

“So what’s your punishment for losing that bet?” (Y/N) states with a curious tone, looking intently at you.

You shake your head and look at the floor but answering “Well Tony distracted me during a sparring match with Bucky and I got pinned; the bet was that whoever got pinned had to wash the others bike.”

“Well that was a hell of a way to lose Steve.” (Y/N) states with a mischievous smirk.

You watch as (Y/N) carries on washing the Shelby, after a few minutes you decide to man up and speak to (Y/N) again.

“Can I help you with the Shelby (Y/N)?” you ask in kind-heartedly tone.

(Y/N) stops washing the car and looks up at you; you try to keep the look on your face relaxed and warm; even though you feel a little nervous that (Y/N) would say no, but you try to keep that flicker of hope alive that she might say yes.

“Sure why not, your punishment for losing your bet with Barnes can wait.” (Y/N) says with a cocky tone “I’m sure that if Barnes comes to check on your progress, that I can convince him to wash his own bike.” (Y/N) states with a laugh, as you look on in shock; but laugh with her.

“That I totally believe; he would do anything for you (Y/N).” you say with a hesitant voice ‘You could ask for anything from either Bucky or me, and we wouldn’t think twice about it.’ you consider.

(Y/N) throws a sponge at you; you catch it without an issue and give (Y/N) a big smile.

Both of you falling into a comfortable silence while washing the Shelby, you work on the one side and (Y/N) takes the other; as you both were finishing up washing the Shelby, (Y/N) throws a bit of soapy water at you; which catches you off guard, ‘Two can play at that game’ you think with a smile as you grab the bucket and try to throw the remaining water at (Y/N).

(Y/N) takes off running and laughing as you take off after her, letting yourself enjoy this moment with (Y/N), but that moments comes to a holt when you see (Y/N) turn around standing her ground ready to take her punishment; you can’t help the look of shock on your face as you look at her intently.

“(Y/N), since when do you give up so easily?” you ask with interest, quirking your eyebrows at (Y/N).

“Well there was no way in hell; I was going to get away; so I decided it’d be easier to just take my punishment.” (Y/N) states with a sweet smile.

You look at (Y/N), like there was something missing ‘What is (Y/N) hiding from me?” you think; but you don’t ask (Y/N) anything, rather you walk towards (Y/N), stopping when you feel the binding rings take effect on your body, preventing you from getting closer to (Y/N).

“Let’s get back to the Shelby, your baby needs to be wiped down properly or there’s going to be marks on it.” you say, nudging your head in the direction of (Y/N)’s Shelby.

“Wow, you really aren’t going to punish me for throwing soapy water on you?” (Y/N) states in a shocked tone.

“No, what’s a little soapy water on my shirt and face; when I get to spend a little time with you.” you say in a lowly voice, as a soft blush starts creeping into your cheeks; ‘God I really am stupid at flirting’ you think.

“Ah Steve, did you just try your hand at flirting?” (Y/N) says in a joking tone, laughing as the blush in your cheeks creep down your neck “Come on big, fella. I still have my GT Hennessey and Kawasaki Ninja to wash.” (Y/N) states, as she makes her way back towards the Shelby.

You follow behind at a distance ‘Why can’t I have Bucky’s confidence when it comes to women?’ you ponder; but you let those thoughts fade as you both carry on wiping down the Shelby, both of you smiling at each other at random moments.

You really can’t help but feel calm and serene around (Y/N), what makes this even better is the song that’s started playing; ‘I didn’t know that (Y/N) liked listening to Frank Sinatra’ you wonder, but you get pulled into the song and sing softly to yourself, enjoying the sound of (Y/N)’s voice singing along as well.

“So you like Frank Sinatra?” (Y/N) asks with a smug look on your face.

You finish up your side and look up at (Y/N) smiling, your cheeks going pink again as you reply “Yeah, I like Frank Sinatra’s music; but I never got to dance to it back in the day, since the girls in the 40’s really only want to dance with Bucky or other handsome guys, I never managed to get their attention.”

You look at the floor and rubs your neck, feeling totally embarrassed for admitting the truth of your young adult life to (Y/N), ‘She’s going to think you’re an idiot; why do I keep making a fool out of myself’ you chastise yourself.

“Well it was their lose anyway.” (Y/N) says with a smile, you look up at (Y/N) in shock “If they were going by looks alone, then I can take any easy bet and say that at least half of them had cheating husbands.” (Y/N) states with a laugh.

You look at (Y/N) a little shocked by her statement, but can’t help but laugh at her comment; you watch (Y/N) walk over to you catching you off guard when she pulls you into a hug, you tense up thinking that the binding rings are going to push you away from (Y/N); when you realise that the rings don’t affect you, you find yourself relaxing into the hug and exhale a deep breath, that you didn’t remember holding.

You look at (Y/N) with a new found hope and happiness that you never thought you might feel again in this lifetime.

“Thank for the extra set of hands Steve.” (Y/N) says in a gentle tone.

You look on as (Y/N) makes her way over to her Hennessey; you’re so confused right now ‘I thought we made a little progress’ you ponder, as (Y/N) turns around to look at you.

“Are you okay Steve?” (Y/N) asks with concern.

“Did I do something to upset you (Y/N)?” you say looking at the floor, before you chance a quick glance at (Y/N).

“Why would you say that Steve?” (Y/N) says taken aback by your question.

“Well you thanked me for helping you with the Shelby, and walked off. I thought maybe I had upset you and you didn’t want my help anymore.” you admit sheepishly, blushing ever so slightly.

“Oh… No Steve, I didn’t mean like that; I just thought maybe you might have had other things you wanted to get done. If you want to stay and help me with the Hennessey and Kawasaki, you are more than welcome to.” (Y/N) says with small smile “Look if I’m ever upset you, I’ll be sure to let you know, okay?”

You give (Y/N) a smile and nod to acknowledge your understanding; you quickly grab all the equipment and take it over to the Hennessy; while (Y/N) seems to be thinking.

“Steve could you wash the outside of the Hennessey, while I clean the inside?” (Y/N) says with a smile “It’ll be easier for me to move inside the car, than it would be for you.”

“Sure (Y/N), I don’t mind.” you pipe up with a grin on your face.

You watch as (Y/N) grabs everything she needs to clean the inside of the car and climbs into car closing the door behind her. You grab the pressure cleaner, your holding the handle trying to figure out how it works; you really don’t want to ask (Y/N) for help on this.

As you think you figured it out you press on the handle and water comes spraying out, what you didn’t expect was that (Y/N) had gotten out of the car to help you; you land up wetting (Y/N) and drop the handle of the pressure cleaner in panic.

You’re in total shock, but quickly regain your mind and apologise profusely “(Y/N) I’m so sorry, I was trying to get the water to come out, but I didn’t know how.” you try to walk over to (Y/N) to wipe the water from her face, but you can’t get close.

“It’s okay Steve, we’re even now.” (Y/N) says with a smile as she uses part of her hoodie to wipe her face dry; you still look unconvinced about your mess up.

“Steve let me show you how to work the pressure cleaner properly, just in case you land up doing this to Nat or Wanda; because they won’t be as forgiving.” (Y/N) states with a whole-hearted laugh.

You sigh and think that (Y/N) is right; Nat or Wanda would have gotten payback even for an honest mistake. So you watch intently as (Y/N) explains how to use the pressure cleaner properly; after a few minutes you let (Y/N) know that you’re okay with using the pressure cleaner, and wait for (Y/N) to get back in the car and close the door.

You get started on washing the car, stopping at odd moments while washing the windows, while (Y/N) makes fun faces to laugh at how fun and easy it was to be around (Y/N) ‘No one would think that (Y/N) was older than any of us in the compound.’ you think while laughing, as you carryon washing the Hennessey.

You finish cleaning the Hennessey in record time with (Y/N), taking a couple of minutes to sit on the floor and relax for a bit; unfortunately it doesn’t last long, as you hear the elevator doors open and you notice Bucky walking out.

(Y/N) catches your attention, gesturing for you get the high pressure cleaner ready. You both take up positions behind one of Tony’s Ferrari’s, as you wait for Bucky to walk pass; surprisingly enough Bucky still hasn’t noticed either of you.

“Hey Punk…” Bucky yells “You better not be getting my bike more dirty than it already is.”

You see (Y/N) giving you a thumbs up when Bucky is in the perfect place and watch as she takes the lead.

“Hey Barnes, what brings you down to the garage?” (Y/N) asks innocently with a smile.

Bucky turns around and to face (Y/N).

“Oh, hey (Y/N). I was looking for… AH!!!! Shit!!!” Bucky shouts, as you sneak up behind Bucky and wet him from head to toe with the water from the pressure cleaner.

“You damn Punk!” Bucky roars, as he turns around to take off after you; as you sprint off.

“Wait Barnes.” (Y/N) says; to get Bucky’s attention and you watch with a smirk on your face as(Y/N) throws the soapy water in the bucket on Bucky; catching him completely off guard.

You burst out laughing, the look on Bucky’s face is priceless; you really haven’t seen the look since the 40’s before the war, it warmed your heart to see that there were still parts of him that were there inside of him; even if he didn’t realise it.

“Really… So you were in on this (Y/N)?” Bucky says, wiping his face with his hand.

“Um, actually I planned this myself; Steve was simply an accomplice.” (Y/N) says, trying to hide her smile.

Bucky sighs and shakes his head, as you decide to join them both; still smiling like a fool.

“Hey Buck, that’s a new look for you.” you says with a shit-eating grin on your face.

“Yeah, yeah jerk. So is my bike washed?” Bucky pipes up.

“Well actually, I was going to...” you say rubbing your neck with your hand.

“Why don’t we head up for some lunch?” (Y/N) says with a sweet smile, as she makes eye contact with you.

‘Is she going to spring her plan, to get Bucky to wash his own bike?’ you wonder, still looking at (Y/N) with a smile.

“That sounds like a plan.” Bucky states with a big smile.

You put down the pressure cleaner and makes your way towards the elevator with (Y/N) in tow; what you don’t see is Bucky grabbing the pressure cleaner, creeping his way behind you both, wetting (Y/N) and you from head to toe; while you both run for cover from Bucky.

“Damn punk.” you say as he hides behind one of the Avenger’s SUV’s.

“Shit, damn it Barnes. Was that really necessary?” (Y/N) says, as you peek around the SUV, watching as she runs her hands through her hair.

“Well payback is a bitch guys. Maybe next time you’ll think your plan through when you try to prank me; though I have to say you look good like that (Y/N).” Bucky states with a smirk plastered on his face.

“Okay, fair enough; you got Steve and me fair and square. Though I had planned on making us all lunch, but now you can go find your own lunch.” (Y/N) chimes in as she makes her way toward the elevator.

You watch as Bucky drops the pressure cleaner so fast, that you shake your head at him, stepping away from the SUV you used as cover.

“Ah come on doll, please can I have whatever you’re making for lunch? Please?” Bucky says in a beseeching tone, using those puppy dog eyes that he hoped would work on you.

You watch as (Y/N) laughs at Bucky’s pleading, you were so used to those eyes getting Bucky a date with any girl he wanted back in the 40’s; but what made life interesting was how those sweet blue eyes couldn’t get (Y/N) wrapped around his finger. Making your way over to them you hear (Y/N)’s answer.

“Barnes you know puppy dog eyes don’t work on me; but I tell you what, you can join Steve and me for lunch and we’ll discuss how you can make up for it later.” (Y/N) says; sniggering as the elevator arrived at the garage level.

You can’t help but laugh, ‘(Y/N) is definitely weaving a web for Bucky.’ You think and smile at Bucky; as he looks at you completely confused by your behaviour.

The three of you get in, everyone agreeing to head to their respective apartments to change into dry clothes before heading to the kitchen. You and Bucky watch as (Y/N) gets out on her floor, after the doors of the elevator close to take you both to your shared floor, Bucky looks at you.

“So what were you doing with (Y/N) in the garage?” Bucky asks you, giving you a wary look.

“Buck, I didn’t plan on (Y/N) being in the garage; I was just settling my bet with you.” You say giving Bucky an earnest look “(Y/N) was washing her Shelby, so I offered to help; that’s all.”

Bucky sighs and shakes his head “Why is this so complicated Steve?”

“I know what you mean Bucky, but look it’s (Y/N)’s choice to do what she wants in her life; so maybe we just make sure that we’re there to help her when she needs it and maybe one day she’ll choose to let herself feeling someone she wants to spend her life with.” You state, deep in your heart hoping that maybe, just maybe you might have some form of a chance.

As the elevator doors open on your floor, you both exit and head to your respective apartment as Bucky does the same; to have a shower and get some dry clothes on to have lunch with (Y/N).

After you finish up, you make your way down to the common room; stopping as you hear music coming from the kitchen. You slowly peek around the corner to find (Y/N) in the kitchen swaying her body to the song that is playing, as she sings along.

You stay hidden and carry on watching her, a smile creeping onto your face; after a few minutes Bucky walks up behind you peering over your shoulder to see what you were looking at. You look at Bucky, but he puts his hand up and points in (Y/N)’s direction, so you both stand watching (Y/N) in the kitchen; not wanting to interrupt her.


	40. Chapter 39

Nat’s POV

As you make your way over to the kitchen to set the guys straight, you hear (Y/N) asking Bruce if he can check something for her ‘I wonder what’s with (Y/N), usually she has an appetite that could topple the guys. I’m gonna have a word with Bruce a little later, maybe he can tell me what’s happening with (Y/N).’ You ponder.

You watch the guys going all out on the food fight, not surprising it’s a three on two battle; Steve and Bucky versus Clint, Sam and Tony. After watching for a couple more minutes you stalk into the kitchen and dodging the flying food, laying a punch to Sam, Clint and Tony; but you don’t get a chance to hit Steve or Bucky, since they both stop fighting as soon as you walked towards them.

“Hey Nat, why’d you stop the fight? We almost had the old ice pops over there beat...” Clint whines, as he pulls a face at you.

“Because clearly you guys are idiots and ruined (Y/N)’s welcome home breakfast.” You state in a matter of fact tone “All of you are going to clean up this mess, and I do mean all of you.” You give everyone a death glare; however Clint tries to quickly duck on the kitchen, but you grab him by the scuff of his shirt.

“I resent the fact that you believe I should clean in my own compound, when I have staff that get paid to do just that.” Tony says in an indignant tone.

You’re about to respond, when Clint pipes up.

“Ah, come on Nat; we were just playing and besides the super oldies were the ones who started it.” Clint complains, just let a kid about ready to through a tantrum.

Steve and Bucky just put their heads down and start cleaning up the mess they contributed towards; as you take a deep breath.

“Clint, if you think you’re getting off scot free, because we’re best friends; then you are sorely mistaken.” You say in your assassin voice, which makes Tony, Sam and Clint cringe.

Tony and Clint are still not moving, Sam however has made a move to start cleaning alongside Bucky and Steve. You turn to face Clint and Tony, giving them both a smile; that they recognise immediately.

“If you two don’t clean up with Sam, Bucky and Steve; you’re both going to wish you were dead.” You say in a sweet voice that is laced with an evil under tone.

Tony and Clint look at you with shocked expressions, as you take a step back folding your arms across your chest, watching to see what they would decide to do.

Clint sighs and walks over to Sam, Steve and Bucky to help with clean up without saying another word. Tony opens his mouth about to say something, but he’s interrupted by his phone going off; he pulls his phone out of his pocket and looks at it, he facing becoming serious.

“Nat I would love to stay here the whole day and argue as to why I won’t clean up this mess, but there’s something I need to attend to in my lab.” Tony states in a sombre tone, walking out of the kitchen heading straight for the elevator.

‘Hmph, that’s strange... (Y/N) and Bruce are down by the labs, now Tony’s rushing down. Something’s up and I’m going to find out one way or another.’ You think; you look at the guys as they carry on cleaning up the chaos they caused.

Your mind is doing overtime, that you don’t even see Clint standing in front of you.

“Hey Nat, are you okay?” Clint asks in a concerned voice.

“What... Oh hey Clint, no I’m good.” You state in a casual tone.

“Nat, really you’re going to play that game with me; I literally know that something’s eating at you, so just spill it.” Clint says with a friendly smile.

You check to see if Steve, Sam and Bucky aren’t listening in; before you look at Clint again.

“I need you to do something for me, no questions; just a little recon for me.” You whisper so only Clint could hear.

Clint gives you a curious look and replies “Anything in particular, you looking for?”

“Nope just get up into the air vents, like now and go down to the labs and check out what’s going on. We’ll talk once you get back.” You say with a small smile.

You turn back to the three Avengers still cleaning up the last of the mess they had made, making your way to the fridge grabbing a bottle of water and closing the fridge door.

“So what are you up to Nat?” Steve says, interest lining his face.

“Nothing you need to worry about, lover boy.” You state with a smirk.

You watch with a smile as Steve’s cheeks turn a pink, as he rubs his hand on the back of his neck and rushes off to do a finally check that everything is spotlessly clean.

“Where did you send Barton off to Nat?” Bucky says in a fascinated voice.

“Why do you want to join him?” you quip “If you want alone time with Clint, I’m sure he’ll be more than happy to oblige.” You say with a mischievous smile on your face.

“Those tactics don’t work on me Nat, I’m not Steve.” Bucky says with a sneer “You might need a different approach.” You continue with a laugh at Bucky.

“Well Barnes, a girl can’t help but try.” You say with a laugh, Bucky just looks at you waiting for you to answer his question; so you continue “Look there’s just something it’s been bugging me and Clint is just doing a little recon, nothing for anyone to get upset or involved in.”

Before Bucky could respond, you turn around and make your way back to your apartment; hopefully Clint would be back soon. You’re in your bikini, ready to sunbath on your balcony when the air vent in your apartment drops open and Clint jumps down.

“Well it’s about time Hawkeye.” You say, sighing in relief.

“You asked me to do recon, so that’s what I was doing Nat.” Clint says in a snappy tone.

“Hey... What’s up with you?” you ask in a confused voice, your eyebrows furrowing in suspicion “What happened in the lab?”

Clint sighs as he makes his way over to the couch and sinks down on to it; usually you would shout at him for getting your couch dirty, but for Clint to look like this meant that something bad had happened.

You take a sit opposite Clint and wait for him to speak, after few minutes of you watching him, he rubs his face with his hands looking at the floor; you start to feel a bit panicked about what could have him looking and expressing anxious feelings.

“(Y/N) got injured on her mission...” Clint finally says still looking at the floor.

“Okay, well (Y/N)’s been injured before and she always gets better.” You say, hoping for Clint to open up more; so you could understand why this was so serious.

“I know Nat, and I thought the same thing just like you; but after hearing Bruce... Whatever attacked (Y/N), has infested her with a substance that is slowly making its way through her body; Bruce doesn’t know if (Y/N)’s going to be okay, he’s getting in contact with Helen Cho.” Clint says, sniffing.

“I’m sure Helen and Bruce will fix (Y/N) up. They’ve worked miracles, even with you.” You say to lighten the mood; but when you look at Clint, you notice Clint is wiping away a tear from his cheek “Clint, please tell me what’s wrong, you can’t be so worked up over (Y/N)’s injury.”

Clint wipes away another tear before carries on “Nat... If you had heard the way (Y/N) responded to the fact, that there was a possibly she might not... get better...” he shakes his head, as he looks back at the floor.

You feel a knot forming in your throat; just thinking about (Y/N) dying ‘We can’t lose her.’ You think shaking your head.

“Clint...” you wait patiently for him to look at you, when he does you continue “Please tell me what (Y/N) said.”

Clint doesn’t say anything, he just pulls out his phone and scrolls through until he finds what he’s looking for; he hands the phone to you and gets up and makes his way to your bathroom closing the door behind him.

You notice he’s opened a clip his recorded, so you tap on the screen to play the video. Tony is sitting next to (Y/N) and Bruce is standing in front of them, you pay attention as the scene plays out.

\---

“So what’s the verdict Banner?” Tony says with a smile “Is (Y/N) going to live?” Tony further jokes.

“I’m not sure Tony.” Bruce looks at the floor “It looks like that the foreign substance from the figure that attacked (Y/N), is slowly infecting her body; I’m going to get in contact with Helen Cho and ask her to consult on this. This is going to be a hell of a challenge, but what I can do for now it subdue the pain and keep a close eye on the wound until we can get a fix for this.” Bruce sighs not wanting to meet (Y/N)'s eyes.

“Hey Bruce.” (Y/N) says, putting her arm on his shoulder “It’s okay, I’ll be okay; I’ve had more years then I’d care to count, so if it’s my time then so be it.”

“Don’t you dare say that (Y/N)!” Tony shouts and stands up, pacing up and down.

“Tony, you don’t need to get upset; I didn’t say I’d just roll over and die, I know Bruce and Cho will do everything in their power to fix this.” (Y/N) gestures to her right arm “Bruce if you don’t mind could we dress this wound, because I really want to go see my baby.”

“Sure thing (Y/N).” Bruce says with a subtle smile, as he opens the first aid kit and preps and cleans the wound; places enough gauze to soak up the blood and ooze. After a couple of minutes Bruce is cleaning up the table and putting away the first aid kit, while (Y/N) pulls her hoodie over her head.

Tony had been silent the whole time, still pacing up and down; but stops when you place a hand on his shoulder and he’s pulled him from his thoughts.

“Hey it’s going to be fine Tony.” (Y/N) says with a smile “I have faith in Bruce and Cho, and so should you.”

Tony moves closer and hugs (Y/N), and (Y/N) whispers in his ear “I’m not going anywhere you sex crazed animal.”

Tony gives a whole hearted laugh that has (Y/N) shaking and laughing with him; as he releases (Y/N), she climbs off the table and head over to Bruce with Tony following suit.

“I only have one favour to ask both of you.” (Y/N) state and wait for both men to nod in acknowledgement “Please don’t tell anyone about this, not until we know exactly what is happening with this wound.”

“I promise (Y/N).” both Bruce and Tony say in unison.

(Y/N) hugs them both, and make her way over to the lab door and asks FRIDAY to unlock the door.

 

\---

You can’t stop the tears that roll down your cheeks ‘How can (Y/N) just accept the fact that she could die?’ you wonder, you delete the clip from Clint’s phone and lock the phone

You get up and knock on the bathroom door, wiping away your tears as Clint opens the door and pulls you into a hug, silently consoling each other; trying to regain your senses.

“We have to help her Clint...” you say, as your breath hitches.

“I know Nat, maybe we could try getting whatever information Tony has; to see what we can find.” Clint chimes in, you look up at him and smile.

Clint always knew how to bring you back from the darker places you sometimes found yourself in; but before you carry on a thought crosses your mind.

“Clint, we can’t tell anyone about this.” You say in concerned voice.

You quickly pull on a pair of jeans and a tank top, putting on a pair of pumps before turning to Clint.

“I know Nat, we’ll figure something out. Maybe you and Wanda should go spend some time with (Y/N), I’m sure she’d like the company.” Clint says with a smile, as he walks towards your apartment door.

“FRIDAY please can you locate Wanda and (Y/N)?” you ask the AI system as you make your way to the door as well.

Clint turns around before opening the door and hugs you, while you relax into; after a few seconds you both pull away.

“Maybe you could get me a sample of the blood and skin that Bruce got from (Y/N).” Clint says as he opens the door and walks away without another word.

“Miss Romanoff? Miss Maximoff has just returned to her room and Miss (L/N) is in the garage. Shall I inform them that you request their presence?” FRIDAY states in a neutral tone.

“No FRIDAY, I’ll make my way to them. Thank you.” You respond to the AI system.

You close your apartment door and make your way across the hall to Wanda’s apartment, you knock on the door and wait, as you hear shuffling of feet and the door opens.

“Hey Nat, is everything okay?” Wanda says, as she looks at you intently.

“Yeah, everything is okay. I was wondering if you wanted to have a girl’s day with (Y/N)?” you ask casually.

You watch as Wanda’s eyes light up, a smile spreading across her face “Of course, we haven’t had a real girl’s day in ages.” Wanda states in excitement, its heart warming to watch; since she had to grow up so quickly since the whole Ultron incident.

“Then let’s go get our final piece of our puzzle.” You state with a laugh.

Both of you making your way over to the elevator; once both of you are in the elevator you press the button for the garage level. As the doors of the elevator open, you and Wanda stop in your tracks at the sight before you both.

Before your eyes you watch as (Y/N) throws water on Steve, while they wash (Y/N)'s Shelby; (Y/N)’s laugh ringing in the garage as she takes off running away from Steve, as he gives chase after (Y/N).

“Maybe we should catch her later.” Wanda says in an innocent tone, pressing the button to close the elevator doors.

“Yeah, you’re right Wanda. I think I’m going to head to the kitchen and grab a quick bite, do you want to come with?” you ask in a sociable tone.

As you and Wanda walk into the kitchen you shocked to find how clean the place is ‘Well it definitely helps to be the black widow’ you think with a snigger, Wanda bursts out laughing at you while she shakes her head at you.

“Let’s watch a movie Nat.” Wanda says, as she goes to the pantry and returns with a bag of chips; grabbing drinks from the fridge as well.

“What do you want to watch?” you ask Wanda, hoping it wouldn’t be something sappy.

“How about the movie ‘Loser’? It’s a cute movie.” Wanda says with a big smile on her face.

“Really Wanda? Can’t we just watch ‘The Transporter’? At least the actor is a total babe.” You state in a whining tone.

“Oh come on Nat, we haven’t done a chick flick in ages.” Wanda says with a pout, you shake your head.

“Okay fine, a chick flick it is.” You say, sighing before you follow Wanda to the common room.

You find Bucky lounging on one of the couches with a book, when you and Wanda walk in.

“Hi Bucky.” Wanda says in a friendly voice.

“Hey Wanda, how are you?” Bucky replies.

“What are you reading Barnes?” you say in a brashful tone.

“Just reading a book I found lying around.” Bucky says, trying to hide the book from you.

“Would you like to watch a movie with us Bucky?” Wanda asks innocently.

“Um, sure why not, I most probably haven’t seen it yet anyway. So at least I can add another movie to my ‘watched list’.” Bucky says with a chuckle.

‘If he only knew what he was in for.’ You think; laughing to yourself as you sat down on the couch with Wanda.

“So what is the movie called?” Bucky asks; interested to know what was in store for him.

“We’re watching the movie ‘Loser’; it’s a sweet movie about a guy that falls in love with a girl.” Wanda says with a smile.

You watch Bucky, as he turns his head and rolls his eyes; and you can’t help but snigger. Turning your attention to the TV as the movie starts.

\------------


	41. Chapter 40

Bucky’s POV

 

You were so pumped up after watching the final day of the racing competition; Tony’s driver had really been put through her paces with that psychotic driver. ‘I’m sure (Y/N) is going to be surprised at all the incidents that happened at the race track’ you contemplate.

Walking into the kitchen, you decide to make a sandwich and head up to your apartment; maybe read a book or watch a movie. Once you close the door, you sit down on the couch and turn on your TV and decide to watch some old Tom and Jerry cartoons, while you eat your sandwich.

After a couple of minutes, you hear your phone beep; notifying you of an incoming message; so you put your plate on the coffee table and get up off the couch and head over to your bedroom to get your phone from the nightstand.

You unlock your phone to find a message from (Y/N), your heart skips a beat, as you open the message; it’s a reply to the message you sent to (Y/N) earlier in the day before you sparred with Steve.

‘Hey Barnes, I’m doing alright just feeling a little tired. I can only imagine what happened at the races, if you guys are totally hooked on it. Take it easy :) Hopefully I’ll be home soon’ (Y/N)’s message states.

You smile, knowing that (Y/N) is safe; but what makes you smile like a total goof ball is that (Y/N) will be home soon; ‘I can finally relax, when (Y/N) is home.’ You think, as you type out a response to (Y/N).

‘Hey (Y/N), I’m glad to hear that you’ll be back soon; it’s been different without you here. The racing competition had everyone going absolutely crazy :) Get some rest on the way back, if you can.’ you send back to (Y/N).

‘Hopefully (Y/N) is sleeping better than she has been of late.’ You think with a sad reflection, but you’re brought out of your thoughts as your phone beeps after a few minutes; you read the message from (Y/N).

‘I’m on my way back; hopefully I’ll be back at the compound by morning. Rest sounds like something fun; know where I can get some good rest Barnes?’ (Y/N)’s message says.

You’re happy that (Y/N) will be home in a few hours, but you can’t help but feel sad for (Y/N); sleep was a luxury for the Avengers. Your old Bucky ‘charm’ surfaces and you think maybe you could make (Y/N) at least smile a little; even if it’s at your expense, so you reply to (Y/N) message.

‘Well if I wanted to be a real jerk, I’d say I’d show you when you got back, but since I’m trying to be a gentleman I’ll say that; I know it’s hard to get a peaceful nights rest, especially with what you have been through, but at least try and if all else fails then I’ll make you my famous hot chocolate when you get back to the compound :)’ you reply, smiling to yourself as you send the message to (Y/N).

Your phone beeps, ‘Why not try to get some sleep before (Y/N) gets home.’ You wonder, as you pick up your phone. ‘I’m going to hold you to that hot chocolate Barnes, since it’s rare that anyone has tasted it besides Steve, Natasha and Wanda :) I’m going to try and catch a nap before I get home. Night Barnes :)’ you read (Y/N)’s message with a shit-eating grin on your face.

You decide not to reply to (Y/N)’s last message, in hopes that she would be falling asleep after sending her last message; so you close your phone and place it on the nightstand, stripping down to your birthday suit and climbing into bed, since you’re too lazy to get changed.

You give yourself over to the fuzziness of your mind as you fall asleep in the knowledge that (Y/N) is fine and you’ll get to see her in the morning.

\-----  
You scrunch your face, as you turn your head away from the rays of sunlight entering your bedroom from the ceiling to floor windows; rubbing your hands over your face, you slowly lift yourself up on the bed.

Taking a few minutes to collect your thoughts, when you remember that (Y/N) is arriving at the compound this morning you smile to yourself; you jump out of bed and head to the bathroom to have a shower and get dressed for the day.

After you finish showering you turn off the water and dry yourself off with a towel, wrapping it around your waist before walking back into your bedroom, heading toward your closest to pick a shirt and jeans to wear.

You hear a knock at the door of your apartment, you shout out “Come in.” without a second thought; when you walk out of your closet you see (Y/N) leaning on the doorframe of your bedroom, in a short summer dress and heels.

(Y/N) gives you a mischievous smile, as she locks eyes with you; you can’t help but swallow hard as you realise that (Y/N) slowly moves her gaze from your eyes, down your body; biting her lower lip as she stops where the towel covers your body.  
You try to get (Y/N)’s attention back “Hey (Y/N), you’re home already?” you say with a sheepish smile, trying to add a bit of confidence to your tone.

“Yeah, I thought I’d come and see if you were awake; since I didn’t get much sleep and I could use that ‘Hot’ chocolate you promised.” (Y/N) says with a smirk as she moves into your bedroom, taking a seat on the edge of your bed.

You feel yourself blushing, knowing that (Y/N) is sitting on your bed, in your bedroom; but you’re brought back to the current situation as you hear (Y/N) laugh, when she notices your facial expression and body language.

“Um... Yeah sure I can make you a hot chocolate; I’ll just get dressed and then we can head down to the kitchen.” You say trying to keep your breathing even; you turn around to walk into your bathroom.

“Bucky… Wait.” You hear (Y/N) say, ‘(Y/N) has never called you by your nickname for as long as she’s know you’ you think; as you turn around to find (Y/N) slowly gets up from your bed.

You take a deep breath and say “What is it (Y/N)?” you’re not sure what you want (Y/N) to say, but all you know is that you need to get into the bathroom, if you plan on hiding the growing erection that is starting to tent the towel that is wrapped around your waist.

(Y/N) looks at you, like she’s sizing up her prey and you hold your breath; ‘what is she up to?’ you think, but all rational thought goes out of the window when you see (Y/N) take off her binding rings and throws them across the room and walks towards you with resolve and poise.

“(Y/N) what are doing?” you ask in a shaky breath, but you never get an answer as (Y/N) crashes her lips on yours; you can’t help but melt into her touch as her hands move up her torso slowly, feeling your perfectly definite body.

You pull (Y/N) away slightly, but still holding onto her as you speak “(Y/N) what is going on with you? Why’d you throw your binding rings across the room?”

(Y/N) cocks your head to the side like a confused puppy and steps out of your hold and states with a sombre expression “But Bucky, I thought you wanted to be with me? Don’t you want me anymore?”  
You feel your rationality waning, as you watch (Y/N) step back further away from you; heading in the direction of the binding rings, you can’t stop yourself from taking purposeful strides towards (Y/N) as you see her face filled with hurt and humiliation.

Grabbing (Y/N) by the wrist you spin her around and pull her close to you, the wind getting knocked out of her, as she looks up at you in shock; you gentle caress her cheek with your flesh hand, you watch as (Y/N) leans into your touch and sighs.

“(Y/N), I would never in a million years want to be without you; I just never expected you to throw your binding rings away for me.” You state with a shit-eaten grin on your face, as you lower your head to continue the kiss that (Y/N) started.

(Y/N) hesitates for a moment and gives in, when you let your hands travel up and down her back; pushing her against your body, the urge of wanting to be as close as possible to (Y/N) overtaking your mind.

Unfortunately, the kiss doesn’t last long; (Y/N) loosens the towel that’s around your waist and lets it drop to the floor of your bedroom, you can’t help but breathe a sigh of relief and anticipation as (Y/N) slowly laces her fingers around your huge pulsing cock.

“(Y/N)…” you exclaim “Shit… Ah” all coherent thoughts and sentences seep right out of your mind, as you feel your hips jerk into (Y/N)’s hands. ‘Damn it, this feels so much better than my dreams.’ You think, as your head falls back.

“I always wondered if you had the cock to back up your down right flirting with me.” (Y/N) giggles into your ear, and you feel all the blood rush downwards towards your throbbing cock.

“You have no idea (Y/N).” you say in a husky tone, as you grab (Y/N) and push her against the wall nearest to the bathroom and crash your lips to (Y/N)’s, biting her lower lip, plunging your tongue into her mouth as she gasps at the sensation.

You break the kiss to give (Y/N) a chance to catch her breath, as you attack her neck, biting, nipping and sucking; drawing out loud moans from (Y/N), which makes your cock twitch in excitement.  
Lifting (Y/N) up, she wraps her legs around your waist; you hold her in place with your metal arm as your flesh hand travels down between the two of you to her core, you practically growl when you feel how wet (Y/N) is, and all for you. You turn around and walk towards your bed and drop to your knees on the edge of the bed and gently lay (Y/N) down.

“(Y/N) do you have a particular love for this dress?” you ask as your fingers roam over it.

“No, not really; it was part of my cover. Why?” (Y/N) asks gasping a little.

All of a sudden you grab the dress on either side and rip it to shreds, as (Y/N) laughs; your eyes roam over (Y/N)’s body, taking careful note that she has no new injuries from her mission. Finding none you focus on the fact that (Y/N) isn’t wearing any underwear.

“Well Doll, you sure as hell came prepared to kill me.” You say with a smirk, finding your buoyancy; as you wink at (Y/N).

“I definitely dressed to fuck you; but definitely not to kill you.” (Y/N) responds as she kisses along your jawline.

You use your metal hand to keep yourself propped up, over (Y/N) as your flesh hand roams over her body; you let your hand linger over the scar of the bullet wound (Y/N) got from the last team mission.  
You take a deep breath and let your head drop, your forehead taking (Y/N)’s; you feel so relieved to have (Y/N) alive, in your arms and in your bed ‘God, how the fuck did I get this luck after everything I’ve done in this life.’ You ponder, your thoughts are distracted by (Y/N)’s hands running through your hair as she whispers sweet nothings in your ear.

“Hey handsome, that bullet wound wasn’t your fault.” (Y/N) states as a matter of fact “I got cocky, no pun intended.” She continues with a smirk.

You can’t help but laugh, ‘(Y/N) really does have a fun sense of humour in nearly every situation, when she wants to.’ You think, kissing (Y/N) tenderly; making your way down to her neck and collarbone, (Y/N) copying your moves; it’s almost like she wants you to feel how you’re making her feel.

Suddenly you’re flipped over on the bed, and (Y/N) is on top of you; gazing at you with lust filled eyes, as she slowly moves down your body; leaving a trail of sloppily places kisses from your left shoulder, down your lean torso towards your navel; gently brushing her cheek against your throbbing cock.

Your head falls back onto the mattress, your eyes close tight as you try to control your breathing; ‘God she literally has me wanting to come and we’re not ever having sex yet.’ You think as your eyes open in shock looking down at (Y/N); in total awe as you see her looking straight at you, as she takes the tip of your cock into her mouth, licking the precum off the tip; causing you to moan incoherently as you try to keep eye contact.

“(Y/N) please…” you pant with want, but the rest of the words lost as (Y/N) bobs her head up and down your twitching cock, your hands grabbing (Y/N)’s (Y/C) hair and pull her off your cock.

“Didn’t you like that Buck?” (Y/N) asks in a seductive tone.

“Baby, I’d love to have your sexy lips wrapped around my cock anytime; but right now I need you.” You state, as (Y/N) crawls up your body; as she comes face to face with you.

“Ah Buck, you should have said something sooner.” (Y/N) says with a smirk, and you can’t help but let a growl leave your throat as you grab (Y/N) and flip her over, hovering her.

“You’re just a walking crime sweetheart, and I think it’s time you do your time.” You state buoyantly.

You attack (Y/N)’s neck moving down to her breasts, you feel (Y/N) arch her back up as your mouth settles on one of her breasts pushing her nipple right into your mouth; you find yourself smirking as you suck and nip at her breast, as your metal arm travels down between (Y/N)’s inner thighs.

As your metal fingers brush (Y/N)’s core, you bring your fingers up to find them covered in (Y/N)’s juices; you lock eyes with (Y/N) as you take your fingers into your mouth and suck them clean.

“Mmm, (Y/N) you taste perfect.” You state confidently, you feel (Y/N)’s legs wrap around your waist to bring you closer to her wet and dripping core.

“Buck, I need you; so stop teasing.” (Y/N) says; gasping as your cock grazes her clit.

“If that’s what you really want (Y/N), I’ve give you anything you ask for.” You state in a loving tone, caressing (Y/N)’s cheek with your metal hand.

(Y/N) lowers her hands down your torso and takes your cock in her hand and lines it up with her cunt; her other hand moving to your back to pull you closer, as her legs nudges you forward. You take the hint and sheath yourself inside (Y/N); both of you gasping at the sensation of the feeling.

“(Y/N)… You feel amazing.” You say, nuzzling into (Y/N)’s neck.

“I can’t believe you could back up on those dirty flirting jokes you used on me.” (Y/N) giggles, which sends vibrations through her body, causing her muscles to tense; in turn making your hard cock twitch inside (Y/N).

“Please move Buck, before I go insane.” (Y/N) whispers in your ear.

You lift your head and look at (Y/N) before you slowly pull out of (Y/N)’s core, (Y/N)’s hands coming to caress either side of your cheek and you push back into her, watching her mouth open in a silent gasp and her eyes closing, as her hips jerk up to meet yours; her legs squeezing you tighter and closer.  
‘I’m definitely not gonna last long.’ You think as you pick up speed, getting (Y/N) closer to the edge with you. (Y/N) pulls you down for a kiss, you give just as good as you get; both of you gasping and trying to breath as your tongues fight for dominance.

You angle your hips slightly and (Y/N) practically screams in pleasure, her head falling back as her eyes close again; but you don’t let her keep them closed.

“Baby, please open your eyes; I want to see you just as you are.” You breath out, as you speed up; hitting (Y/N) from the same angle from a minute ago, (Y/N)’s eyes shoot open and lock with yours; as her hips jerk up to match your movements.

“Buck…” (Y/N) pants “Please, I’m so close… Come with me…” she says lacing her hands in your hair and pulling, as she buries her head between your neck and shoulder; you place your metal forearm next to (Y/N)’s head and bring your flesh hand down between your bodies, rubbing (Y/N)’s clit; causing her to buck her hips and you know it’s game over for you both.

“Come for me (Y/N)… I’m coming right behind you.” You gasp, as (Y/N)’s walls clench at your hard cock.

“Oh Buck… Please… I’m gonna… AH!!!” (Y/N) screams and bites your shoulder as she comes all over your cock.

“(Y/N)!!!” you scream as you come inside of (Y/N).

\-----

“Bucky are you okay?” Steve shouts running into your apartment.

You sit up in your bed, but no one is there except you ‘God damn dreams…’ you think to yourself. As Steve runs into your bedroom, you look up at him and realise you need cover yourself better since you came all over your bed sheets.

“Yeah Steve, I’m alright; just a dream.” You say, trying to be as vague as possible; hoping Steve wouldn’t inquiry any more into it. “Hey I forgot to let you know, (Y/N)’s getting back to the compound this morning.”

You see Steve’s face brighten up, but he tones it down as soon as he sees you looking at him. Steve gets up from your bed and heads for the door.

“I better give you time to get up and dressed, before (Y/N) gets home.” Steve says with a small smile and leaves your apartment.

You rub your flesh hand over your face, throwing back the bed sheet you see the mess you made ‘Damn it, the one night I decide to go to bed bare ass and I totally mess up the sheets.’ You think, as you breathe a sigh.

You quickly take all the sheets off the bed and grab your clothes, throwing everything into the laundry hamper; walking into your closest you grab a pair of jeans and a short sleeve T-shirt, grabbing a pair of boxers from your drawers before heading to the bathroom to wash yourself off.

By the time you get down to the kitchen, word has spread that (Y/N) got home not too long ago; you help Wanda and everyone else set the table, getting all the food that Clint and Sam have been cooking to the table; your jaw literally drops at the amount of food that they put together to have a family breakfast.

Once everything is setup, the Avengers finally assemble at the table, with the exception of (Y/N) who hasn’t arrived; a few minutes in and your stomach starts to growl loudly, along with a couple of the other guys at the table.

“I’ll go check where (Y/N) is.” Clint states as he gets up from his seat, he makes just outside of the kitchen when you hear him say “Hey we were just about to send out a search party to find you.”

As you watch (Y/N) walk into the kitchen with Clint, you can’t help but smile like an idiot; as you join in with everyone shouting “Welcome home (Y/N)!!!”

“You guys are acting like I’ll been gone for years...” (Y/N) says, as she takes a seat between Bruce and Tony, opposite you. 

You give her your winning smile and a small wave. (Y/N) smirks and waves back mouthing a ‘hello’ to you, but before you could reply Sam pipes up and shouts “Woah, (Y/N) did just pull a move on Frosty?”

You watch as everyone stops what they’re doing to look at both of you, you notice Steve looking at (Y/N); you remember that look on his face, from the 40’s when a girl he liked didn’t want to go on a date with him; his was hurting.

“Since when is saying hello pulling a move Wilson? And last time I checked you literally did the same thing to me when I first arrived at the compound.” (Y/N) laughs when she sees Sam blushing and you can’t help but smile at how happy she looks.

Everyone bursts out laughing, as everyone digs into the amazing breakfast; you and the rest of the guys let the ladies take whatever they want first before you and the rest of the guys dig in with gusto. You look over at (Y/N), finding her moving her food around her plate ‘That’s strange usually she can match us for an appetite for food.’ You ponder.

Out of the corner of your eye you see Clint and Sam having a go at each other, it’s been like this since Sam lost the bet against Clint; what you’re not expecting is the oatmeal that Sam throws at Clint.  
Unfortunately Clint ducks, and the oatmeal lands square on (Y/N)’s face; you practically kick Steve, but as you look at him, you know he saw it too. You both give each other a nod just as you hear T’Challa speak.

“Oh shit, you are in for it now!” T’Challa says and slowly gets up from the table, backing away from Clint and Sam.

Both you and Steve pick up your bowls of oatmeal and throw it at Sam and Clint, the oatmeal splashing on their faces and shirts; you and Steve putting your heads down to carry on eating the remainder of your breakfast, pretending like you saw and did nothing.

Steve nudges you with his elbow, when you hear (Y/N) laugh; you two giving each other a grin. You chance a glance at (Y/N) as she gets up from the table and heads to the sink, Wanda heading over to (Y/N); you can’t make out what they’re saying since both Clint and Sam start yelling something about teaching some old retired men, how to win a war.

Suddenly Nat, Vision and Bruce get up from the table taking their plates to the sink and leaving the kitchen. Your attention is pulled back to the current situation, when Steve pulls you back in your chair, so you don’t get hit by scrambled eggs that Tony decided to throw.

“Oh it’s on now, bird brains.” You laugh, as both you and Steve take cover behind the kitchen island; as food starts flying through the air between team Steve and Bucky against Clint, Sam and Tony.

“Just like old times punk.” Steve cheers, looking at you, with a shit-eaten grin on his face.

“Yeah, as long as I don’t have to save your ass this time.” You state with a laugh.

\---------------------------------------------------


	42. Chapter 41

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year everyone :)
> 
> I hope you have an amazing year :)

You loved cooking, and having your favourite 80’s songs playing just made the scene so perfect; especially since you were by yourself in the kitchen. As you drained the cooked pasta into a sieve, you let the crispy bacon, cool off on some baking trays on the centre island, giving your sole attention to the creamy cheese sauce you were about to make.

As you began making the sauce a the familiar guitar strings of a Bryan Adams song starts to play in the kitchen and you can’t help but slowly swag your body to the romantic number; feeling totally relaxed and in a way vulnerable; since no one on the Avengers team knew you could sing (not like the celebrities, but you could pull off a good imitation).

***

To really love a woman   
To understand her you gotta know her deep inside  
Hear every thought see every dream   
And give her wings when she wants to fly   
Then when you find yourself lyin' helpless in her arms  
You know ya really love a woman 

When you love a woman you tell her that she's really wanted   
When you love a woman you tell her that she's the one   
'Cause she needs somebody to tell her that it's gonna last forever   
So tell me have you ever really   
Really really ever loved a woman? 

***

As you stir the sauce at the stove, adding in cheaddar, mozzarella and goud cheese into the pot and leave it to simmer on a low heat, making your way to the centre island, sway your hips to the music; singing along with a smile on your face, as you grab a chopping board and knife to cut up the bacon into pieces.

***

To really love a woman   
Let her hold you   
'Til ya know how she needs to be touched   
You've gotta breathe her really taste her   
'Til you can feel her in your blood   
And when you can see your unborn children in her eyes   
You know ya really love a woman 

When you love a woman   
You tell her that she's really wanted   
When you love a woman you tell her that she's the one  
'Cause she needs somebody to tell her that you'll always be together   
So tell me have you ever really   
Really really ever loved a woman? 

***

Trying away from the centre island, you grab a big serving bowl from the cupboard and place it near the sink where the pasta has been draining; you drizzle a little olive oil into the pasta and toss it into the serving bowl. Taking the bowl with you to the centre island to add the bacon, you carry on seeing; not noticing that you have a small audience watching from the shadows.

***

You got to give her some faith hold her tight  
A little tenderness gotta treat her right   
She will be there for you, takin' good care of you   
You really gotta love your woman, yeah

Then when you find yourself lyin' helpless in her arms  
You know ya really love a woman

***

You make your way over to the stove and take the cheese sauce off the stove and pour it over the bacon and pasta in the serving bowl; putting the pot into the sink, you close your eyes for a minute and sway with your arms up almost like you’re holding a dance partner.

Suddenly you feel someone take the place of your imaginary dance partner, as they grab you around the waist and clasp your hands to place them on their body.

“You looked a little lonely sweetcakes.” Tony says with a shit eaten grin.

“How long have you been standing there watching me?” you ask a bit shocked.

“Long enough to know that you can hold a note, so please don’t stop on my account.” Tony says with a sweet smile.

You shake your head and continue to dance with Tony as you finish singing the song.

***

When you love a woman you tell her that she's really wanted   
When you love a woman you tell her that she's the one   
'Cause she needs somebody to tell her that it's gonna last forever   
So tell me have you ever really   
Really really ever loved a woman? 

So tell me have you ever really   
Really really ever loved a woman?   
Just tell me have you ever really   
Really really ever loved a woman?

***

As the song ends, Tony drips you back; his eyes meeting yours a smile on his face.

“You know that the guy that lands up with you will be extremely lucky right?” Tony chides.

You return his smile as he brings you back up and let’s go of you.

“The only luck that any man on this earth will have is if he doesn’t get together with me.” You state in a monotone voice; as you walk over to the counter to mix in sauce with the bacon and the pasta.

Before Tony can say anything else Steve and Bucky walk into the kitchen.

“Hey (Y/N), can I set the table for you?” Steve says with a smile, though it looks almost sombre.

“Hey Steve, hey Barnes.” You say with a smile “That would be wonderful Steve, Barnes please could you get whatever you both want to drink with your lunch; Ill bring the food to the table now.”

“So how come I didn’t get a lunch invitation?” Tony says with a pout.

“Well because you never wash your own cars, so you missed out on an opportunity for a home cooked meal.” You say with a smirk.

Tony pretends you broke his heart, you watch Bucky and Steve out of the corner of your eye as you laugh at Tony.

“Well if you’re starving, I’m sure the guys won’t mind if you join us for lunch.” You say looking over at Steve and Barnes.

You watch in silence as Steve and Bucky look at Tony; it’s almost like their having a private conversation that you’re not allowed to know about.

Tony finally pipes up “It’s okay, I’m going to take a rain check on lunch; since I’ve got some things to sort out.” Eyeing you when he says the last part and you realise he’s talking out the situation with your arm.

“Alright, it’s your lose you joke.” You give Tony a simple nod and smile as he walks out of the kitchen.

“Lunch smells absolutely delicious (Y/N).” Bucky states, with a smile; as he stands by the dining table with Steve.

“I can’t wait to dig in.” Steve says with a laugh.

“Wow, I’d swear for a second you both switched brains.” You say with a laugh “Usually you give the compliments Steve and Barnes usually thinks about eating.”

Both Steve and Bucky laugh at your comment, as you make your way over to the table with the serving bowl in your hands.

“Well what can we say (Y/N), you have both of us confused sometimes.” Bucky says with an evil grin on his face; as he eyes the serving bowl.

You place the serving bowl down in the centre of the table, as Steve and Bucky stand at the table waiting for you to sit first. Once you’re seated they both sit down opposite you, and smile.

“Thanks for lunch (Y/N).” Steve says in a sweet voice, giving you his winning smile.

“Well you did work for it Steve.” You state with a laugh.

Bucky watches you laugh and gestures for you to serve yourself when you make eye contact with him.

“No need to be gentlemen on my account.” You state with a smirk.

“I think Bucky and I will take a pass on our mama’s turning in their graves.” Steve says with a huff, as he looks at you and laughs with Bucky.

“Alright then, I’ll go first; besides I know there won’t be anything left, since you both eat enough to feed an army.” You say with a sneer.

“Hey we’re growing boys.” Bucky chides in with a laugh, as Steve shakes his head.

You take the serving spoon and serve yourself, before letting Steve and Bucky dig; you watch with amusement as Steve and Bucky eye each other’s plates.

“You know it’s not an eating competition guys.” You state with a stern look “At least enjoy the taste, since boiled food in the 40’s was horrific.” You snigger as you watch both of them blush, looking down at their plates.

A silence falls over the table as everyone, starts eating their lunch; you think that you might have upset Steve and Bucky or brought back some bad memories, when you hear someone cough and you look up.

You’re met with two pairs of blue eyes, looking at you intently.

“Something wrong guys?” you ask with concern “Is there something wrong with the food?”

“No, the food is amazing (Y/N).” Steve says with a smile, as he continues to eat his food.

Bucky however, continues to look at you; and you find it a little hard to keep eye contact with him, so you lower your head and carry on eating.

“(Y/N)?” Bucky asks getting your attention; you look up at him and find that Steve is looking between you and Bucky.

“Where were you in the 40’s?” Bucky asks with a sombre look on his face, the question seems to keep Steve’s attention and has both men looking at you, waiting for an answer.

“You mean where I was living?” you ask to clarify; both men now nod to answer your question. So you continue “I was staying in New York during the early 40’s, I was going through a rough patch and needed space and being in such a crowded city was good to hide from people back then.”

“Were you being chased by someone?” Steve asks concerned.

You smile at Steve ‘He really does care for the people, even if he can’t do anything to fix their situation.’ You think as you look between Bucky and Steve.

“Let’s just say a relationship ended, not through my own fault entirely; but the person kept trying to find me to make amends.” You say taking a deep breath and going back to your food.

“(Y/N)...” Steve whispers, but doesn’t carry on speaking; leaving an awkward silence at the table.

You look up to see Steve looking like someone kicked a puppy; you take a deep breath and speak up.

“Steve I know you feel like, you have to protect me in some way, but it was the past. There was nothing you could have done then anyway.” You say with a smile.

“Was the guy your fella?” Bucky asked before putting his head down and eating the rest of his food.

You waited a minute to think before you answered Bucky’s question.

“I was hiding from my then ex-boyfriend, he’s skilled at finding people.” You say, trying to be vague since Steve and Bucky didn’t know about how Logan and Remy were involved in your past life.

“Well he must be dead by now, so you don’t need to worry about him.” Steve says trying to turn the conversation light-hearted.

“Actually he’s not...” you say, grabbing your plate, you get up from the table and head to the sink to place your half empty plate and walk over to the fridge, taking a bottle of water out to drink.

Steve isn’t far behind with Bucky, who have finished eating. Steve places his and Bucky’s plate in the sink and turns to look at you, while Bucky puts the leftover pasta in a container and places it on the centre island.

“What do you mean your ex-boyfriend isn’t dead, he’d be around a 100 years old right?” Steve asks with a questioning look, Bucky furrowing looking at you.

“(Y/N) have we encountered your ex before?” Bucky asks with a serious look.

You hold the bottle of water tight between both your hands, looking down at the floor you sigh.

“Everyone has met him, he isn’t anywhere near dying.” You say looking up at both Steve and Bucky “You guys would have figured it out eventually, my ex from the 1940’s was Logan.”

“What the one guy from Xavier’s school for the gifted?” Steve says with his eyebrows raised, in total shock.

“Yip, that’s the one.” You say, in hopes of this conversation ending.

“So how does Remy fit into the picture then (Y/N)?” Bucky asks curiously.

“I am really becoming shit at hiding my past...” you say with a sigh “I got back together with Logan some years ago, around 8 or 9 years ago Remy came to the school; he fell for me but I was dating Logan, which caused major team work issues. It got so bad that Logan and I were fighting consistently.”

You shake your head, rubbing your forehead before carrying on “One day on a mission, Logan and I had a fight that morning; if Remy hadn’t diverted from his mission to help us both of us would have been dead.” You take the cap off the bottle of water and take a sip before you speak again.

“Professor Xavier knew the situation, so he tried to help me sort it out the issue between Remy and Logan, but it didn’t work... It turned into an argument and I left... My drink was spiked at the bar and a group of guys tried to rape me.”

Both Steve and Bucky growl at this information, but you continue “Somehow after I left, Logan and Remy resolved the issue and found me; they got me home and Beast fixed me up before the drug could do any real damage to my body.”

“Up until 5 years ago, Logan, Remy and I were in a relationship...” before you can say anything else, Steve pipes up.

“So you were dating two men at the same time?” he says with questioning look.

“Um... Yeah I was, I don’t know how but it worked.” You say with a small smile, shaking your head.

“So why did you leave it, everything had worked out?” Bucky asks curiously.

You take another sip of your water and consider your answer “I have a unique ability... I can see how someone will die...” you look away from Steve and Bucky and go on “I saw Remy and Logan die to protect me on a mission, so I chose to leave the school and leave them behind... They would live as long as I wasn’t there or in their lives as their girlfriend.”

“So that’s why you wear the binding rings?” Steve says with an analytical look, a small grin on his face.

“Yeah, my oldest and dearest friend Maggie is gifted with spells and binding; so I got her to cast a spell over me, hence why I don’t reciprocate romance or flirting gestures. The rings keep people who have and romance or sexual feelings towards me at a safe distance for me.” You state, Bucky and Steve both looking like their brains are doing overtime.

You empty the bottle of water and throw it in the bin “As much as I ‘loved’ taking a trip down memory lane, I’m going to head down to the garage.” You say with a smile, catching Steve’s eye.

“Why are you heading back down?” Bucky asks in curiosity.

“Well Steve offered to help me wash my bike.” You say with a smirk and Steve smirks back.

Bucky looks like he’s mulling over something and pipes up, just as you and Steve walk out of the kitchen “Hey I need to wash my bike.” As he jogs after you both, as you all head towards the elevator.

The ride down to the garage is quiet, as you all step out Bucky turn around and says “I’ll get the equipment we’ll need.” Bucky runs off leaving you and Steve standing outside the elevator doors.

“I told you, I’d get Barnes to wash his own bike” you say with a shit-eaten grin.

“(Y/N), you literally got him to forget about the bet... That is a damn gift.” Steve states with a smirk.

As you see Bucky heading back towards you both, you whisper “Well it took a couple years of experience. I’d say grab your bike, cause I don’t think the binding rings are going to let you anywhere near me, while we wash the bike.”

Both you and Steve laugh as Bucky says “All ready.”

You smile at Bucky and make your way over to your Kawasaki Ninja and you smile, it’s been a while since you’ve driven it. ‘I should really take a day trip with the bike’ you think, before your thoughts are interrupted by Bucky and Steve debating.

“What are you two children arguing about?” you state a laugh.

“Let (Y/N) decide then, you jerk?” Bucky pipes up.

“That’s a great idea.” Steve states and looks at you “Whose playlist do you want to listen to while we’re washing the bikes?”

You shake your head and say “FRIDAY?”

“Yes Miss (Y/N).” The AI system responds.

“Please do a mix playlists of Captain Rogers and Sergeant Barnes music playlists.”

“Right away Miss (Y/N).” The AI replies.

You walk over to your bike as Bucky brings his bike over and Steve does the same with his bike; with music playing in the background everyone fell into a comfortable silence. At times one of you or all of you would sing along to a song playing, which got everyone laughing at some point; especially when Bucky would try to get those high notes on one of the songs he liked.

After you guys finished washing and drying your respective bikes, you turn around to start putting the equipment away; Steve throws one of the sponges at you.

“Hey what was that for?” you shout, as you feel the water from the sponge seep through your long sleeve top.

“Don’t worry about clearing up, Bucky and I have got this; go put your feet up for a bit.” Steve says with a playful smirk.

You look over at Bucky to make sure it’s okay.

“This punk is right (Y/N), we’ve got this.” Bucky says with a smile, as he points in Steve’s direction.

You laugh at their interaction with each other, shaking your head before making eye contact with both men.

“Thanks guys, I’ll see you both in the common room just now.” You say and make your way to the elevator.

Instead of heading to the common room, you make your way to your apartment first to grab a book you’ve been meaning to read. Once you close the door to your apartment you make your way across the living room to the book shelf, when you start to feel dizzy and your sight becoming blurry.

As you feel yourself losing consciousness you manage to speak out “FRIDAY, get Bruce...” darkness overtaking your mind.


	43. Chapter 42

Bruce’s POV

“Tony, it’s not going to work...” you heave a sigh, pinching the bridge of your nose; your glasses on the table.

“Come on Brucie, there’s at least a 50/50 chance that it’ll work.” Tony says with a pout.

“This is (Y/N) we’re talking about, there is no way I’m going to risk her life by injecting her with multiple varieties of drug cocktails to stop the spread of that substance.” Bruce states in a harsh tone.

Bruce puts his hands through his grey/black hair; they had been at this for a couple of hours trying to find a solution to fix (Y/N), but every single time they thought they had a break through it fell apart.

“Okay I need a drink right now, so let’s take 5 and I’ll be back.” Tony says looking at Bruce with a small smile.

“Okay, I’m gonna keep doing some tests on this substance.” You say, picking up your glasses and put them back on.

‘This is going to be a long night.’ You think; the substance was proving to be resistant against some of the strongest medicines that were stocked in the lab, hopefully Helen would have more luck with this then they were.

A knock at the door gets your attention; you look up to see Natasha leaning against the doorframe.

“Hey there stud.” Nat says with a smirk.

“Hey babe, what brings you to the lab? Did I forget we had an appointment?” you say with a sombre tone.

“Nope.” Nat says with a smile “I thought I’d come and see my sweet, loving man; since we’re both technically not on duty.”

You realise that (Y/N)’s name is on the papers and tubes that you and Tony were working on, and you quickly walk up to Nat, hoping to get her out of the lab before she started asking questions.

“Babe, why don’t we go for a stroll?” you ask as innocently as you can muster.

“Bruce... Are you hiding something from me?” Nat asks with a quirked eyebrow.

You were never a good liar, and well Nat was a natural lie detector; you sigh and shake your head.

“Look Nat, I don’t want to lie to you; but I can’t let you into the lab to see what Tony and I are working on right now.” You say with a defeated sigh ‘Tony would call me out for being a coward.’ You think.

Nat just smiles at you, and pulls you into a kiss, as you pull away Nat looks at you and smirks.

“God, I love it when you know you can’t lie to me.” Nat says with a laugh.

“I couldn’t even if I tried babe.” You say with a sweet smile.

Nat looks at you like she’s looking for something in your eyes, and you look at Nat with a confused look.

“How bad is (Y/N)?” Nat says in a matter-of-fact tone.

“How... How do you know about (Y/N)?” you stutter in shock.

Nat gently slides her hands up your arms and rests them on your shoulders before responding “Well Bruce, I am a spy so it would only be natural that I would find out.”

You know there’s no point to trying to detour from the subject with Nat, so you take Nat by the hand and lead her over to your table.

“You might as well about what happened to (Y/N), just please don’t say anything; only Tony and myself know.” You say in a whispered voice.

“Well actually there’s one other person who knows.” Nat states and you can’t help the shocked look on your face, Nat quickly catching on says “It’s Clint, don’t worry we won’t say a word. I’m just worried about (Y/N), can you and Tony fix her?”

You let your head drop into your hands, you want to yell, get mad; but that wouldn’t help anyone. How were you going to tell your girlfriend and one good thing to come out of your life and her best friend might actually die.

“T... That bad?” Nat whispers with a stutter.

“Tony and I have been working on the samples from a wound she has on her right shoulder from this morning, but we’ve had no luck and Helen Cho still hasn’t gotten back to us with any results either. At the rate that this weird substance is taking over (Y/N)’s blood and organs I don’t know how long she’ll last.” You shake your head and look up at Nat.

Nat looks at you, and quickly turns her head to the side to hide the tears that are welling up in her eyes. You step closer to Nat and hold her face in your hands, getting her to look at you; wiping a stray tear away from her cheek.

“Nat... Babe I promise I’ll do everything I can to save (Y/N).” You say, trying to sound as confident as you can muster.

“I believe you Brucie.” Nat states, kissing you tenderly; you feel yourself respond to the kiss and you pull Nat into a hug; her hands gripping the back of your shirt as she crying into your shoulder. You can’t help but cry as well, it broke your heart to hear your girlfriend cry; but right now it was what you both needed.

You both stay like that for a couple of minutes consoling each other, as you slowly loosen your hold on Nat, she backs away and looks at you.

“Would it make me an evil person to say, that even when you cry you look beautiful?” you say, leaning your forehead against Nat’s.

“No, you’re just way too honest my handsome dork.” Nat states with a smile.

“Miss Romanoff. Mr Wilson, Miss Maximoff and Mr Barton are waiting for you in the training room.” FRIDAY states in a monotone.

“Thank you FRIDAY, please tell them I’ll be there shortly.” Nat responds.

“Nat, I love you.” You say kissing Nat one more time, you look her in the eye and carry on “Please don’t let the rest of the team know; (Y/N) doesn’t want anyone to know.”

“Of course, I’ll bring you something to eat after I finish teaming with the team.” Nat says with a smile.

“Bye babe.” You say with a goofy smile, as you watch Nat walk towards the door, swaying her hips seductively ‘God she’s going to drive me insane.’ You ponder, shaking your head with a smile.

You turn back to the papers scattered on your desk, making your way over to some test tubes and slides to carry on working on saving (Y/N)’s life. Your thoughts are interrupted by Tony bragging into the lab, thankfully not drunk.

“Brucie, you have to see this.” Tony almost shouts with a smirk “FRIDAY bring up footage from the kitchen from when (Y/N) started cooking.”

FRIDAY brings up video and audio footage of the kitchen; you find yourself smiling as you hear (Y/N) singing to some 80’s song while she cooks. 

Tony gently places his hands on your head and moves your head to a different area, what catches your eye makes you laugh, you’re weren’t in the habit of making fun of people; but watching Bucky and Steve watching (Y/N) cook and sing was quite funny.

It was like the one time while you were hiding in Kalkata; watching the snake charmers, charm the cobra. The cobras were completely hypnotised by the charmer’s moves and music. ‘Steve and Bucky have got it bad for (Y/N)’ you think, as you shake your head.

You look at Tony who looks like he’s in another world, so you nudge him in the side to get his attention.

“Brucie, just watch; I promise you’ll actually laugh.” Tony says unable to contain his own laughter.

You carry on watching, and you mile as (Y/N) dance around in the kitchen alone; looking over at Steve and Bucky, you find Tony talking to them and suddenly running into the kitchen and taking up the space of (Y/N)’s imaginary dance partner.

The looks Tony gets from Steve and Bucky are enough to make you laugh uncontrollably “Tony you sure as hell have a death wish.” You say wiping tears from your eyes.

“Well the old men just left (Y/N) there dancing and singing; it would have been rude to leave her without a dance partner.” Tony says trying to flail innocence.

“You totally incorrigible Tony, you know that right.” You say shaking your head.

Just as Tony is about to respond, one of the machines goes off in the lab; both of you rush over and see that some of the tests you had set ere complete. Pulling the paper that was printing out, you read it carefully with Tony leaning over your shoulder, you sigh and lower your head; Tony takes the page from you and take a look as you walk over to your chair and it down.

“Damn it, I thought we had it this time.” Tony states with a pout “Bruce, are there any stronger medicines we haven’t tested that substance on yet?”

“There are a couple we haven’t tried, I’ll just check with Helen and make sure she hasn’t done tests with them as yet.” You say opening a chat on your pc to speak to Helen Cho.

While you’re chatting to Helen, Tony begins working on formulating further tests on the substance from (Y/N)’s wound. After about 30 minutes, you close your chat and turn to Tony; who looks at you with intrigue.

“Well Brucie?” Tony says with a smile.

“Helen hasn’t started testing with the meds you’re thinking of trying; though you know its suicide, we don’t know if (Y/N) would survive those levels of medication.” You say in a hushed tone, looking sternly at Tony.

“Brucie, we’re not just going to inject (Y/N) with random cocktail drugs.” Tony says perplexed “I just wanna make sure we cover all our bases, we have to find a way to fix this.”

“I guess we don’t have very much of a choice.” You sigh shaking your head; going to the extremes that you, Helen and Tony were going to help (Y/N) could be really dangerous; you decide to push those thought aside for the mean time.

“Alright, let’s start doing the calculations for new tests; and get those medicines brought through to the lab.” You say clearing your table to start from scratch again.

“Ah Brucie, I love when you let me have my way.” Tony says in a mocked tone, grinning when you give him the stink eye.

Both of you fall into a comfortable silence again, as you work through the calculations; the medicines arriving shortly after and Tony starts to setup the next round of test tubes and dishes.

You both look up when Nat enters the lab, walking toward you with a takeout bag; you look at Nat with a smile ‘God I love you Nat’ you ponder, unfortunately that thought is short lived when FRIDAY’s voice gets your attention.

“Doctor Banner, Miss (Y/N) requests your presence.” FRIDAY states in an urgent tone.

“FRIDAY, give me the current location of (Y/N) and your status.” You ask FRIDAY with a serious look on your face.

Nat and Tony both look extremely worried, as you start grabbing your medical bag and heading towards to the doors.

“Miss (Y/N) is currently in your apartment and she is unconscious and none responsive on the lounge floor.” FRIDAY notifies you.

All three of you break into a sprint towards the elevator; as the doors of the elevator open you see Bucky and Steve standing there looking at you with furrowed brows.

“Everything alright Dr Banner?” Steve says with concern.

“Um... Yeah, kind of...” you start stammering.

“Hey frost lollipops, out of my elevator now; you’re too young to be using the elevator anyway.” Tony practically shouts “Use the stairs, we need the elevator.”

Steve and Bucky look shocked and confused, but as they meet Natasha’s eyes; something clicks and they get out of the elevator, letting the three of you in. You practically smash the button for (Y/N)’s floor and the doors close.

Once you get to (Y/N)’s floor, Tony gets FRIDAY to open (Y/N)’s apartment door; you all walk in and find (Y/N) face down on the carpet near the bookshelf, Nat stands slightly back and you and Tony gently turn (Y/N) over onto her back.

You feel for a pulse, releasing a heaving breathe you had been holding since you got in the elevator.

“She’s breathing.” you state with a smile, looking at Nat to reassure her “Tony help me get her up and over to her bed.”

Both you and Tony lift (Y/N) up together; she is literally dead weight in both your arms and that scares you for a minute, when you think about not solving this current problem with her.

“Nat.” You say looking at your girlfriend, but she doesn’t respond “BABE!” you shout and she snaps her head your way “Please bring my bag.”

Natasha nods and grabs the bag, following you and Tony into (Y/N)’s room. As you both place (Y/N) on her bed, she begins to thrash around almost hitting you and knocking Tony on his ass. Tony tries to restrain (Y/N) but he’s can’t manage alone, before you even think of helping Tony Nat jumps onto the bed to assist Tony.

You take moment to open your medical bag and get out the sedatives to tranquillize (Y/N) for now; you need more information from (Y/N) before doing anything else.

“Shit Nat, grab her arm; she nearly broke my nose.” Tony states in an irritated voice; Nay manages to grab (Y/N)’s arm and hold her tight, so she can’t move.

Nat starts speak to (Y/N) “(Y/N)... Please wake up... Please...” she’s nearly sobbing, when you hear two voices in the lounge calling for (Y/N).

Within a couple of seconds you see Steve and Bucky come walking into (Y/N)’s bedroom into the chaotic scene that is going on. Their eyes wide with shock, their mouths opened wide.

“What do you think you’re doing to (Y/N)!!! Steve and Bucky growl, as they make their way towards you three.

The only saving grace is that (Y/N)’s binding rings prevent them both from getting any closer; you quickly sedate (Y/N) watching as she stops thrashing around, going completely limp in Nat and Tony’s arms.

“What the hell is going on here?!” Bucky says with a venomous tone.

Nat slowly lets go of (Y/N) and gets off the bed, making her way to Steve and Bucky.

“(Y/N) collapsed; she asked FRIDAY to get Bruce. Bruce and Tony moved (Y/N) to the bed, so he could assess her, but she started thrashing around; hence as to way we were holding her down while Bruce tranquilized her.” Nat says in a calm and collected voice.

You watch for a moment as Steve’s face goes from angry to sad and guilty; while Bucky’s face goes from furious to worried and anxious. Tony gets up from the bed and starts pulling back the covers down to (Y/N)’s feet, moving back to (Y/N)’s head, he gently lifts her head and places a pillow underneath to support her neck.

Tony moves away from the bed and gives you a nod; you place your bag next to (Y/N) as you begin assessing her body.

“FRIDAY please give me a full body scan of (Y/N).” You say to the AI system.

“Right away Dr Banner.” FRIDAY responds.

“Steve... Buck... I’m sorry but you have to leave, you too Nat.” You say, looking at the group.

Steve and Bucky nod sombrely and make their way out; Nat looks at you with a concern look on her face.

“Babe, please... Just wait in the lounge, until Tony and I are done.” You say with an innocent tone.

“Okay Brucie.” Nat says with a small smile.

You hear the door of the bedroom close and you look at Tony; you take your glasses off your face and pinch the bridge of your nose. Taking a couple of deep breathes you put your glasses back on and look at Tony.

“Let’s get this bandage off and see what’s going on.” You say, keeping your voice as steady as possible.

“You tell me what you need Bruce.” Tony says with a serious look, clearly this was rattling him more than he was letting on.

Tony lifts (Y/N) up to take into sitting position, which is hard since (Y/N) is sedated; you lift the top off over (Y/N)’s head and you help Tony lie (Y/N) back on the bed. You quickly grab the scissors out of your medical bag and begin cutting off the bandage you had applied earlier in the day; as you move the bandage from the wound you both audibly gasp at the sight in front of you.

There are dark purple/black veins creeping from the wound up and down (Y/N)’s arm, you have never seen anything like this and the wound looks even worse than this morning. Your attention is caught when FRIDAY’s voice is heard in the room.

“Dr Banner, scans reveal that the unidentified substance in (Y/N)’s system is slowly taking over her organs; trying to work its way into her nervous system. (Y/N)’s body seems to be trying to fight off the substance; hence as to her collapsing earlier, your body is taking a toll with fighting of the substance. Bed rest would be recommended until a cure can be found.” The AI’s voice states in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Thank you FRIDAY. Tony please get more tubes, we’re going to have to take more blood to test; hopefully we’ll be able to see if there’s been any drastic changes.” You state in a stern tone; your medical instincts taking over.

“You got it Bruce.” Tony says and quickly grabs everything from they need from the bag.

You busy yourself with getting the blood samples you need; and bag them.

“Okay, let’s get (Y/N)’s long sleeve top back on.” You say, motioning for Tony to help. Once you’ve managed to get (Y/N)’s top on, you pull the sheets up over your body, leaving her arms on top of the covers.

Turning to Tony, you ask him to head down to the lab to see if there has been in any changes. Tony nods and quickly head for the door and closes it behind him.

As you turn to grab some medication for (Y/N) from your bag, you hear a loud groan and turn back to the bed to find (Y/N) conscious and trying to get up.

“(Y/N), please you have to lie down.” You say in a concern voice.

“Bruce… Please, you have to get Professor Xavier here. Please…” (Y/N) says with urgency, before her head falls back onto the pillow.

Turning to your bag again, you get the same type of anaesthetic you injected (Y/N) with earlier and an extra dose of sedation; you measure out the syringes, lifting the right side sleeve of (Y/N)’s top just past her elbow; you inject the medication into (Y/N)’s system.

“Hopefully you get some rest, while I keep trying to find a cure (Y/N).” you whisper in (Y/N)’s ear, hoping against all the odds that she can hear you.

Opening (Y/N)’s bedroom door, you find the whole Avengers team in (Y/N)’s apartment; waiting anxiously for you.

“Dr Banner, what is going on?” T’Challa asks in a worried tone “Is there anything that I can do to assist?”

“(Y/N) is just extremely tired after all the missions she’s been on; I’ve had FRIDAY do a full body scan and I’ve taken bloods to make sure she’s okay. For right now, (Y/N) just needs rest, so please try not to wake her up.” You state, hoping that no one will ask you anymore questions, since you and Steve are the worst liars on the team.

“Is it okay if Nat and I go in to see (Y/N)?” Wanda asks in a whispered tone.

“Sure you can Wanda.” You say with a smile, giving Wanda what you hope was a bit of faith that (Y/N) would be okay.

“Please excuse me, I need to get back to the lab to analyse the scans and blood work.” You say heading for the apartment door; Nat quickly catches up to you by the elevator.

“Brucie … How bad is it?” Nat asks with a frown.

“The substance is trying to take over your body; both physical and neurological. I’m doing everything I can; but I don’t know how much she can take.” You say waiting for the elevator to arrive.

“I’m going to stay with her okay.” Nat says with a small smile “Let me know if you get anywhere with a cure.”

“I will babe, you’ll be the first to know besides Tony that is.” You state hoping to lighten the mood a little; to help Nat cope better.

Nat pulls you in for a kiss as the elevator arrives, and pulls away as FRIDAY notifies you that Tony requires your presence in the lab. She releases you and turns to go back into (Y/N)’s apartment.

Once you’re in the elevator heading down, you think over what (Y/N) had said; she must know a bit more if she was asking for Professor Xavier. As the elevator doors open, you walk into the lab, to find Tony talking to Helen Cho; explaining the situation.

After a couple minutes of questions and answers from both sides, both sides taking notes; you end the live chat. Tony turning back to do more calculations, before starting new blood tests for (Y/N).

“Tony?” you say quickly before he starts the tests, Tony turns his attention to you and you continue speaking “(Y/N) woke up just after you left.”

Tony’s eyebrows shot up at that news, you carry on before he gets hopeful “She asked me to get Professor Xavier here, to see her.”

“Why would she ask for Professor X? He’s just a telepath” Tony says with a curious tone.

You both sit in silence thinking over, the reasons as to why (Y/N) would make that request before losing consciousness. Nothing comes to mind straight away, so you both go back to the blood work analyses; after a couple of hours, something clicks in your brain.

“FRIDAY, please give me the information from (Y/N)’s full body scan.” You say, waiting for the AI system to respond.

“Of course Dr Banner.” FRIDAY responds “My earlier scans revealed that the unidentified substance in (Y/N)’s system is slowly taking over her organs; trying to work its way into her nervous system. (Y/N)’s body seems to be trying to fight off the substance; hence as to her collapsing earlier, your body is taking a toll with fighting of the substance. Bed rest would be recommended until a cure can be found.” The AI’s repeating her earlier diagnosis.

“Tony! I think I get it now.” You say with renewed understanding.

“What did you get Brucie?” Tony says with furrowed brows, almost a confused expression on his face.

“Why (Y/N) wants Professor Xavier, think about it of the substance is attacking her physically and neurologically…” you don’t get to finish your sentence, as Tony interrupts you.

“Damn that girl is quick, she’s figured out what the substance is trying to do and pointed us in the right direction to help with the neurological part.” Tony says with a smile.

Both of you take a moment to pull yourselves together, before calling Xavier’s school for the gifted on speaker phone; after explaining to the person who answered the call, the reason for your call at such a late hour; you finally hear Professor Xavier’s voice over the telephone line.

You and Tony both explain everything that has happened, and the request (Y/N) had made to you; after discussing the finer details of the situation, Professor X explains that he can be there in 3 to 4 days; as he had a situation that required his urgent attention, but he would keep an eye on (Y/N) with Cerebro, but to please keep him updated if (Y/N)’s condition worsened.

After saying your goodbye’s, Tony and you started working throughout the night on all of (Y/N)’s blood work and scans. ‘Hopefully we’ll find a solution for this thing.’ You ponder, while waiting for the results of the current round of tests.

\----------------------------------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone for the kudos and comments, they means so much to me and keep me going with this story :)


	44. Chapter 43

***

You feel your body shift and slowly open your eyes; you remember falling in your apartment lounge, but that’s not where you currently are. As you get up off the ground and look around nothing looks familiar at all, it’s like you’re in another world; its dark, the sky almost black with dark brooding clouds, a shiver goes down your spine as you take in your surroundings better.

“Finally we get to spend a little more time together (Y/N).” A voice says from the shadows.

“Where the hell, have you brought me!?!?” you shout at the shadows “Why am I here?”

“Now, now (Y/N) we had this talk back on earth before you killed us. We’re just sharing our home with you, you should feel honoured; since many would sacrifice their own lives to see this place.” A second voice says from the shadows.

“There’s nothing worth seeing here!” you snap at the two voices “So I’m guessing you poisoned my blood with both of yours?” you ask in a serious tone.

“Oh (Y/N), we’ve done more than that.” The first voice says in a sneering tone “We’re slowly integrating our DNA into your system to take over your body and mind.” Laughs as your eyes go wide with shock and fear.

“Why would you do that, you sick bastards!” you shout in pure rage.

“Come now (Y/N) isn’t it obvious. You have ties to earth, if we took away your reasons for staying; you would come with us more willingly, but then again if we just took over your body and mind you would come with us regardless.” The second voice says chuckling at your reaction to their plan.

Your whole body is shaking in anger and you feel your rational thought fly right out of the window as both figure finally step out of the shadows. Charging forward, you attack both figures and taking them down with ease seeing their figures turn to ash; heaving deep breathes as you try to regain your thoughts.

“It seems we’ve upset her again.” The first voice says from the shadows again.

“(Y/N), you can only defeat us for so long; we will get stronger and you won’t be able to stop us.” The second voice says from the shadows as well.

“You can’t have me; I will not yield to either of you. I’d rather die than go anywhere with both of you.” You say in a stern voice, your nostrils flaring as you try to calm down.

“We’ll come back when you’re in a ‘better’ place (Y/N).” Both voice say in unison; as everything around you blurs and you feel like you’re falling into a void; causing you to flail around in panic.

You swear you can almost hear Nat calling for you to wake up, but you can’t seem to get out of this haze that’s surrounding you. Eventually, you don’t have that falling sensation which in turn stops you from panicking, looking around the haze begins to lift and you feel a little calmer.

***

You feel pain throughout your body and groan, opening your eyes slowly, and try to get yourself sitting up.

Suddenly Bruce is by your side and you realise you’re in your bedroom, in your bed.

“(Y/N), please you have to lie down.” Bruce says in a concerned voice.

“Bruce… Please, you have to get Professor Xavier here. Please…” you say with urgent tone, before you feel your head spinning and you fall unconscious onto the pillow.

 

\-------------------

*** Flash back to 305 years ago ***

You move with silence and stealth that could make many a warrior envious and look at you with hatred. The camp site you were making your way through consisted of what was left of the swine’s that had killed everyone in your village including your family and ransacked the place.

Being the only sole survivor, and since they hadn’t found you during the attack; they didn’t know you existed. But you would rectify these disgusting broods’ habits one way or another; starting with the men camping under the night sky, you gently place your hand over the first man’s mouth and feel your power surge through your hand, before the man can even wake up you have disintegrated him into ash.

Moving from person to person; being sure to stick to the shadows and making quick work of the men; knowing you need to be careful otherwise you could find yourself in a very uncomfortable position. By first morning light you’ve nearly killed the whole army, the only ones left are the general and his advisor.

You make your way into the general’s tent, covered in dirt and ash; which makes you feel so dirty ‘I really should wash in the river after this.’ You think. The general is awake already and he sees you before you have a chance to hide; he gets up slowly with his sword in hand.

“Now now sweet girl how did you find your way here?” he says in a condescending tone, an evil sneer on his face.

‘He thinks you’re so innocent, if he only knew that you were already 32 years old... Well we’ll fix that right up.’ You ponder, keeping silent and keeping your eyes slightly to the ground.

“I wasn’t aware that there was free meat.” He says with a laugh as he walks towards you.

You look up, trying to make yourself as small and vulnerable as possible before you voice your response.

“There were two men that took me from the village; they tried to have me, but one of your officers saw and said they were to hand me over to him. He brought me to this tent and said I should come inside.” You whisper, keeping your voice as sweet and naive as possible.

“Oh he was right, young one; I am always the first to have the spoils of war.” He says with an evil stark in his eye, taking your hand and leading you to his bed; totally unaware of the fact that the sun was rising and there was no a sound to be heard.

‘You have to be a complete moron to not have noticed the eerie silence.’ You think, giving the general a small smile and looking at the ground.

“Oh don’t worry sweet child, I’ll make you feel so much better; that you will even forget your family.” He says laying you down on the bed and throwing his sword on top of his armour. You shiver a little as a breeze filters through the tent, but the general thinks that you’re getting excited for him and his smile widen into a smirk.

You stay still and close your eyes, you feel as the bed sinks a little knowing that he is on top of your body. The general uses one of his arms to keep himself off of your body, as his other hands roams over your face; taking in your facial features slowly moving through your (Y/L) (Y/C) hair.

He feels you tremble under him and keeps his hand on the side of your face “Open your eyes; I want you to see everything that I’m going to do to you.”

As he takes one of your hands and places it over his groin and you feel his erection twitch in your hand and your eyes shot open meeting the general’s eyes. He moves your hand slowly up his body and you take in deep breaths, trying to stop yourself from lashing out until the right moment; as he moves your hand up to his face letting you cup the side of his face, he moves his hand away to move your dress up your body.

You watch as his eyes move down to look at your exposed legs, you let out a moan for him to think you want him to carry on; you move your hand over to his chin and mouth, his mind distracted enough for you to finish your quest.

Moving your hand to cover his mouth his eyes slowly slide up to meet yours as your power surges through and kills the general, his dead before he can react. You roll off the bed and hide in the corner behind one of the curtains in the tent, knowing that the advisor would come running into the tent at any moment.

You hear footsteps coming and you ready yourself, you see the flap of the tent open and the advisor steps inside concern and fear in his eyes. You silently creep up behind him and put him in a choke hold from behind, you feel he start to flail around as your one hand touches his skin as he becomes ash, just like the rest of the army.

Leaving the camp site after you took whatever provisions you needed, making your way through the forest to keep from encountering any people; you felt unclean and disgusting, you weren’t a killer not by nature; having been raised by a wonderful and peaceful farming couple.

Finding a river in the middle of nowhere, you hide your bag of provisions and keep a knife you found on you; heading into the river to wash yourself of the remains of the army you killed. ‘Well seems my life here has come to an end.’ You ponder, cleaning yourself up ‘maybe a new adventure is what is needed.’

\-------------------

 

You feel like a train has hit you, your body is aching and your mind is hurting just as much from the flashback. Opening your eyes, you shut them quickly groaning; bringing up your hands up to cover your eyes from the sunlight entering your bedroom.

“(Y/N)?” you hear a voice call, turning your head away from the sunshine; you find the source of the voice.

“Nat...” you say with a small smile “What are you doing in my bedroom? Did I over sleep and miss our sparring session?”

“(Y/N), don’t you remember what happened?” Nat says with a concerned voice.

You take a moment to collect your thoughts, before you answer Natasha.

“I blacked out, how long was I out?” you say with an innocent tone.

“You blacked out yesterday afternoon; it’s after 10:00am. How are you feeling?” Nat says a small smile.

“I’m okay; my body just feels like it’s been through a war.” You say with a laugh.

“Well let’s hope you don’t get to experience war (Y/N), because it isn’t a pretty sight.” Bucky chimes in, as he walks into your bedroom.

“Very funny Barnes, you know that I have seen more wars than you and Steve right.” You say with a smirk, covering your eyes with your left arm to keep the sun out of your eyes.

Nat gets up from the chair that’s next to your bed and closes the curtains and takes a seat again.

“Thanks Nat.” You say with a grin on your face.

“Here you go Nat.” Wanda says carrying in three mugs, of hot coffee.

Wanda hands Nat her coffee before taking a seat on your bed and looks at you with a smile.

“Feeling better (Y/N)?” Wanda asks with genuine concern on her face.

“I’ll be okay Wanda, I’ve had worse.” You say with a laugh, trying to hide your anxiety and fear.

“(Y/N), what exactly happened? The whole team is worried about you.” Bucky says with a serious tone to match his facial features.

“Look, you guys don’t need to worry. I’ve just pushed myself way too hard and now my body is paying for my stubbornness.” You say with a laugh, but Bucky isn’t entirely convinced by your response; Nat looks like she is upset with what you said and Wanda looks as if she wants to take a step into your mind.

“Guys, really; you’re going to give me a shit over me blacking out?” you say shaking your head.

“(Y/N) from the moment I met you and you stabbed me; you have never admitted to being stubborn, even when you have been in a situation. What’s going on seriously?” Bucky states with sombre tone. Crossing his arms over his chest, to enforce the gravity of his question.

“I don’t know what you guys want me to tell you, I’m just really tired physically and mentally; I just some time to rest and get up and running again.” You say with sincerity, looking at the three Avengers in the room.

Just as Wanda is about to speak your stomach growls loudly, sending you into a fit of laughter; causing everyone else to join in.

“Clearly someone needs food.” Bucky says smiling at you “Can I get you anything to eat (Y/N)?”

You look at Bucky a smile still on your face, as you think about what you would like.

“Barnes, do you think Steve could make me flapjacks like, he did before my last mission?” you ask with a smile, Bucky’s face contorts for a split second in hurt, before he gives you a tight lipped smile.

“Sure (Y/N), I’m sure Steve wouldn’t mind making you flapjacks.” Bucky says controlling his voice, you realise that he’s upset over you wanting Steve to cook for you. As Bucky turns to leave the room, you ask for one more thing which should balance out Bucky’s feels.

“Hey Barnes...” you say looking into your hands for a moment before looking up at Bucky, as he stands in the doorway with his hands in his pockets “Do you think you could make your famous hot chocolate you promised to make me?”

Bucky’s eyes brighten up at that request, he doesn’t respond at first; though after a moment he replies “Of course (Y/N), anything you want.” Bucky says smiling like he just hit the jackpot.

“Thank you Barnes.” You say matching his smile, as he walks out of your bedroom and you hear to apartment door close.

“So you ready to tell us what’s really going on (Y/N)?” Wanda says crossing her arms.

“What do you mean Wanda?” you say sounding as innocent as possible, though from the look on Nat’s face; you’re becoming suspicious that she might know something.

Nat doesn’t open her mouth to say a word about what she knows, but you can tell she knows way more than Wanda. You look at both women and sigh ‘Clearly I’m not going to be let off the hook by these two so easily.” You think.

“I got injured on my last mission; it’s not related to the mission, I got into a fight and well my injury was the least serious between me and them.” You say, not wanting to say anymore.

“So is Bruce getting Helen to heal your wound then?” Wanda asks, tilting her head to the side “Because you know that she can heal the skin.”

“I believe Bruce, Tony and Helen are working together to fix my wound.” You say looking past them, taking a deep breath.

“(Y/N)… So you’re not going to say else about this whole thing.” Nat says in a stern voice, giving you a death glare.

“Well I was wondering how, long you could hold yourself back from saying that. How much do you know Nat?” you say shaking your head, realising that there was no way that Wanda and Nat would leave this whole situation alone now.

“You’re hiding things from us.” Wanda says, looking at you shocked; but you look at Wanda and see the slight red glow in her eyes.

“Wanda get out of my head now.” You almost shout “There isn’t anything else to say; the two figures I found stabbed me with a blade that had their blood on it; now their blood is slowly seeping through my blood stream getting to my organs. Bruce and Tony are worried I might not survive this.”

You shift towards the edge of the bed; your mind wondering over the fight and the new flashbacks from your earlier past. Pushing yourself off of the bed, wanting to make your way to the bathroom; but you even take a step, you’re pulled back from your thoughts.

“Where do you think you’re going?” you turn to see Tony and Bruce walking into your bedroom.

“A bathroom break would be good, considering the interrogation I’m getting in here with these to nosy people.” You say with a smirk; both Wanda and Nat smiling at you, knowing that you didn’t mean it as a bad thing.

“Well hurry up sweet cakes, I’m not getting any younger.” Tony says waving his hand at you to go, while he takes a seat on your bed and steals Wanda’s mug of coffee finishing it off; as she looks on in horror.

You laugh and make your way to the bathroom and close the door behind you, doing your business and washing your hands; looking in the mirror you realise you didn’t even ash your face or brush your teeth last night, so you decide to wash your face and brush your teeth quickly before heading back into your bedroom.

Steve and Bucky are back leaning against the far wall, you notice that there’s a breakfast tray on your bed; with the amazing flapjacks that Steve had made for you before and a huge mug of steaming hot chocolate. Smiling at everyone as they looked at you, you made your way over to your bed and sat on top of the covers, crossing your legs and bringing the tray closer.

The smell from the food and hot chocolate is absolutely mouth-watering, you look up at Steve and Bucky and smile “Thanks guys, it looks and smells amazing.” You say, your smile reaching your ears as you see Steve start to blush as he smile at you, Bucky nods with a smile coming to his face.

Tony is smirking at you and you just shake your head and dig into your breakfast with fervour, since you hadn’t eat anything since lunch the previous day. Everyone chatters around you, while you eat; which you’re grateful for, it gives you time to just be in the moment where you don’t have to think about everything that is happening to you right now.

You finish your breakfast and keep the mug of hot chocolate in your hands, as Wanda grabs the tray off the bed and takes it out of the room; as Tony and Bruce move closer to you.

“Can’t you both give (Y/N) a minute to just breathe?” Steve says, pushing himself away from the wall.

“Capcisle, don’t be such a drama queen.” Tony says with a smirk, making Steve frown at him.

“(Y/N) hasn’t even finished her hot chocolate; just breathe science brothers.” Nat states in a sombre tone, backing up Steve.

“Tony back off for a little while.” Bruce says, meeting Tony’s eyes as if they’re communicating with each other telepathically.

“Fine, seems everyone has out voted me on this.” Tony sighs, pulling out his phone to distract himself.

“How’s the hot chocolate (Y/N)?” Bucky asks with a smile.

“It’s amazing, I have never in my whole life tasted hot chocolate like this before.” You say taking another sip from the mug.

You catch Nat looking at you out of the corner of your eyes; it’s almost like she’s studying you, looking for something. Tilting your head towards her, you give her a questioning look; which seems to make her smile at you, before she turns to Bruce to whisper something in his ear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can't wait to hear from you guys :)
> 
> Let me know if you're enjoying the story or not :)


	45. Chapter 44

Eventually you finish the amazing hot chocolate that Bucky made for you; filling extremely content, your stomach full and the hype of sugar hitting your system. Wanda comes back into your bedroom and sits in her original spot quickly.

“Hey (Y/N), Nat?” Wanda says in a casual tone, you and Nat look at Wanda; giving her your full attention “I’m going to train for a while with Vision, Sam, Clint and T’Challa.”

“Oh okay, its fine Wanda. Have fun and kick ass for me.” You say with a smile.

“I’ll be down there just now Wanda.” Nat says with a smirk.

“Actually, Nat, Steve, Bucky and Wanda... You all need to leave for Tony and me to run a few more tests.” Bruce says looking at you with slightly furrowed brows.

Nat realises what that means, but she doesn’t let on; getting up from her chair, she swiftly kisses Bruce and turns to you, giving you a hug before she leaves the bedroom and apartment all together.

“What, why are you both running more tests on (Y/N)?” Steve says in a concerned tone.

Tony is about to respond, but you choose to interrupt the impending argument that Tony and Steve were about to have.

“Steve it’s okay, I’m sure Tony and Bruce are just being careful.” You say with a smile, giving Tony the stink eye; though you can’t help but laugh as Tony just rolls his eyes.

“Bruce, what were the results from the bloods and scans you did last might?” Bucky says with suspicion lining his facial features.

Bruce pulls off his glasses and pinches the bridge of his nose, before putting his glasses back on; ready to answer Bucky’s question, but Tony takes it upon himself to speak up first.

“Well, I’m surprised to see the frosty has taken on medicine as his next hobby.” Tony says with a sneer.

“Don’t you have an uncompleted invention to keep you busy jackass.” Bucky says stepping forward, stopping after the first 2 steps; it takes a moment for him to realise that Tony is near me, and my rings are keeping him away.

You look at Bruce keeping eye contact, silently willing him to end this stupid argument.

“Alright kids, seriously please let me do my work.” Bruce says with a slightly serious tone, which always seemed to work on the guys; since they feared Bruce would Hulk out on them.

Bucky, Steve and Tony look at Bruce; silence finally taking over the room.

“Guys as much as I love having an abundant amount of testosterone in one room, I think I’ll pass on it happening in my apartment.” You state with a smile on your face, laughing when Bucky and Steve shake their heads, as Tony fanned hurt and insult; while Bruce laughs with you as he gets his medical bag and places it on the bed next to you.

“Steve and I will come and check on you a little later if you want.” Bucky says innocently, hoping you wouldn’t disagree with what he just said.

You smile at Bucky and Steve “Sure Barnes, hopefully I won’t be stuck to my bed by then and we can hang out for a bit.”

Tony places his hand in front of his mouth as he pretends to cough, hiding his comment of “Suck up’s.”

So you reciprocate, with your own pretend cough for Tony; covering up your comment of “Asshole.”

Bruce, Steve and Bucky burst out laughing at you calling Tony and asshole; Bruce opening his medical bag to get everything he needed. Steve and Bucky take that as a hint to leave.

“Well I guess we’ll leave you to it then.” Steve says with a small smile, waving you goodbye.

“See you a little later (Y/N).” Bucky says with his best smile, catching your eyes; as he puts his hands in his pocket as he walks out of your bedroom.

Tony gets up and checks the front door of the apartment is closed and then closes the bedroom door for good measure.

“So how are you feeling today (Y/N)?” Bruce asks with a concerned tone.

You take a couple of deep breathes, before you decide to answer.

“I think I’m feeling okay.” You say leaving your thoughts hanging, not ready to admit to them what happened to you, while you were unconscious. “Would you guys mind if I quickly had a shower, before you do more tests?”

Tony and Bruce look at each other and back at you.

“Sure (Y/N), we’ll wait here for you.” Bruce says in a kind and sympathetic tone; pulling out his notes to look over, as you get out of bed and head into your closest to get clean clothes and underwear before heading into the bathroom closing the door behind you.

You strip all of your clothes from yesterday off, getting into the shower; setting the temperature of the water before you start washing your hair, your right arm throbs a bit; but you brush it off to get through the rest of your shower.

Once you’re finished washing up, you turn off the water and step out of the shower; towelling off your body. You put on your underwear; you check your bra straps aren’t twisted on your back using the mirror, your heart nearly stops when you see black/ dark grey lines forming on your back and the wound on your right arm has dark purple/ black veins seeping from the wound up and down your arm.

Quickly lipping on your legging you exit your bathroom without putting on your long sleeved top, Tony looking at you a little surprised, as Bruce blushes and dip his head down.

“Bruce…” you say in a whisper “You need to see this.”

Turning around to show Tony and Bruce the lines on your back; Tony moves closer to you first, Bruce following behind him.

“Maybe I’m being a presumptuous genius here, but that looks like the beginnings of some sort of a tattoo.” Tony says looking at Bruce with quirked brows.

“I think you might be right Tony.” Bruce states in a concerned tone; as you turn around to face them, your face going sombre.

“FRIDAY give me a full scan of (Y/N)’s body, special focus on the lines on (Y/N)’s back.” Tony says to the AI system.

“Right away Boss.” FRIDAY states in a neutral tone.

“(Y/N) maybe it would be easier if you take a seat.” Bruce says indicating to the chair near your bed.

You walk over and take a seat, looking down at your hands, your mind doing a mile a minute with worry and concern. You were so distracted that you nearly jumped out of the chair when Bruce placed his hand on your shoulder.

“I’m sorry (Y/N); I didn’t mean to startle you. Could you lie down on the bed, so I can take a closer look at your arm?” Bruce says in a gentle and caring tone.

Meeting Bruce’s eyes, you nod and get up from the chair walk lay down on the bed; ensuring you keep your right arm close to the edge of the mattress.

“(Y/N) what were you thinking about?” Tony says with quirked brows.

“I was just...” you couldn’t bring yourself to say what was really on your mind, heart felt like it was breaking just think about what those psychotic beings were thinking of doing to you.

“Hey.” Tony says bringing you back to the conversation “Don’t you dare think about giving up, Bruce, Helen and I are working through multiple tests to find a cure for you.”

“I know Tony, I just feel like I’m being a burden to you guys; especially with stupid situation having happened to me. I’ve fought them before, even beat around 100 strange looking creatures; how could have been so stupid...” you say with sigh, you were beginning to feel anxious.

“(Y/N) I need you to be calm, your heart rate is picking up.” Bruce says with a concerned tone.

You take a couple of deep breathes, willing yourself to calm down; closing your eyes for a minute or two, as Bruce begins to undress the wound to check it out.

“(Y/N) you know that we would do anything for you, you’re family to us all; just as much as we’re your family too.” Tony says, as he takes a seat on the chair that Nat had previously been sitting on.

Opening your eyes, you look at Tony and give him a small smile; your heart hurting even more, knowing that if this substance managed to take over your body and mind that you’d literally be like a corpse that they control.

“I know Tony, but that’s what I’m afraid of; what if there’s no way to fix me and I become some sort of a monster.” You say in a sombre tone, averting your eyes away from him and Bruce.

“We won’t let that happen (Y/N), I promise.” Tony says, giving your ankle a gentle squeeze.

“Tony in all honesty I don’t think that any of you would have the heart to end me, if I became a monster.” You say; shaking your head as you fidgeted with your finger nails.

“It won’t come to that I swear (Y/N).” Tony says, trying to reassure you.

You decide to leave the topic there, to prevent any more debating; not wanting to give them false hope, you had to keep fighting the substance that was creeping through your body. Hopefully Charles could help by channelling the 2 psycho’s whose blood is infecting your body and maybe find a way to fix this.

“Hey (Y/N), I spoke to Professor Xavier like you asked, he says he’ll be here in about 3 to 4 days; he said something about keeping an eye on you with Cerebro.” Bruce states in a tranquil voice, trying to distract you from your debate with Tony.

“Oh thanks Bruce, I wasn’t sure if I had been dreaming when I said that.” You say with a smile.

As you catch Bruce’s eye, you notice his furrowed brows as he looks at your right arm.

“This is getting worse.” Bruce says with a serious tone.

“Well now would be a good time to test out your little cocktail that you made Brucie.” Tony says with a wide grin on his face.

“(Y/N) are you okay with us trying out the cocktail we put together?” Bruce says, giving you an intense look.

“Of course Bruce, at least you’re trying something.” You say with a smile “I trust you guys.”

Bruce gives you a nod and digs in his medical bag, taking out his equipment to take more blood samples and skin samples.

You lie on your bed as Bruce works over your arm, while Tony is busy on his phone; so you decide to close your eyes for a little bit, feeling safe and comfortable around Bruce and Tony.

Some time passes by, and Bruce gently nudges you awake.

“Everything okay Bruce?” you say in a groggy voice.

“Yeah I took the samples I needed, and redressed the wound. You can put your top on, and I’ll inject you with the cocktail and a sedative to let you rest some more.” Bruce gives you a smile, and you can feel his calming energy trying to keep you in calmed state.

“Okay sure.” You say sitting up slowly and grabbing your long sleeved navy blue top, pulling your arms through the sleeves and pulling it over your head; once you’re done you lie back down as Bruce lifts the sleeve to inject medication into your system.

After Bruce is finished, he packs up his equipment and closes his bag; before getting up he turns to you and smiles “Sleep tight (Y/N).” Bruce says as he gets up from the bed and heads for the bedroom door, Tony close behind.

“FRIDAY keep an eye on (Y/N) and her vitals.” Tony states in an arrogant tone.

“Will do Boss.” FRIDAY responds in a monotone.

“Bye guys.” You say in a sleepy voice, as you yawn; closing your eyes and leaning into your pillow, as your mind drifted off into the darkness of your subconscious.

\-------------

 

After a few hours of sleep, you wake up to find your curtains open; and 2 huge bodies slumped in chairs near the bedroom door.

You slowly sit up in the bed and rub your eyes, before looking at the person in the chair again; you can’t help but smile when you see Steve sleeping in one chair and Bucky in another, leaning on each other.

Unable to resist the urge you grab your phone from the nightstand and take a picture; sending it to Nat and Wanda with a caption ‘I apparently have my own personal guards :) Hahaha’

Climbing silently out of bed, you make your way to the bathroom quickly; before coming back into your room. Bucky and Steve are still sound asleep, so you grab 2 blankets and place one on each of them; before you close the door most of the way, heading into your lounge on the way to your kitchen.  
Grabbing a can of coke cola out of the fridge and a pack of Pringles salted from your cupboard, before you head back into your lounge and sit on the single-seater couch.

Your phone chimes and you unlock the phone to see a message from Natasha ‘Sweetie, you have no idea; how bad they wanted to stay and watch over you last night. I had to tell them that I would get FRIDAY to call them if anything changed :) Just enjoy the view (Y/N), it’s not often you see those to completely vulnerable like that.’

You laugh to yourself, imagining Nat trying to shove the 2 super soldiers out of your apartment door; you click reply and reply ‘Hahaha Nat, I’m not like that. I’m going to chill for a while, chat to you later :)’

The chiming sound lets you know that Nat has responded, opening the message you almost choke on the coke-cola you’re sipping ‘Right (Y/N), enjoy your ‘chill’ session with Bucky and Steve; don’t do anything that I most probably would while they’re unconscious ;)’

You can’t bring yourself to reply, so you place your phone on the coffee table, and you grab the remote for your TV; flipping through the movie list that was available to you, after a couple of minutes of being undecided, you eventually settle on a classic movie.

Popping open the container of Pringles, you wiggle around on the couch to get comfortable; as the beginning of Pride and Prejudice begins, the scenery making you smile when you think back to when those days were a reality for you.

The movie progresses steady, with you finishing the Pringles and coke-cola as well; but you’re so comfortable that you don’t bother getting anything else to eat or drink. You place the empty containers on the coffee table and carry on watching the movie.

The movie is just over half way through and your attention is solely focused on the movie, that you don’t notice Bucky and Steve watching you from your bedroom door. They both and silently and gently tip toe further into your lounge and sit on the couch, and carry on looking between you and the movie.

You pause the movie, to get up and order some dinner when you notice Steve and Bucky sitting on the couch.

“Well sleeping beauties are finally awake.” You jokingly mock both men.

“We just wanted to make sure you were okay.” Steve says with a small smile on his face.

“I think what you guys really need a goodnight’s sleep, you both look exhausted.” You say with a sympathetic smile.

“We’ll be alright (Y/N), we’re resilient. We’ve survived worse than a lack of sleep.” Bucky says with a reassuring smile.

Those words cause your breath to catch, and you have to remind yourself to breath as you look away from Steve and Bucky. Everything that they had been through over 70 years wasn’t fair in any form or way, but then again they showed that they could survive the future and still keep their habits and manners from the 40’s.

“Hey (Y/N), I didn’t mean it like that...” Bucky says almost in a panic, when he sees the look on your face change after his comment.

“It’s okay Barnes, I just felt bad that you both had to go through so much to get here.” You say in a whisper “It’s okay; I get what you’re trying to say.”

You get up from your place and Bucky and Steve both stand as well, which makes you smile at them.

“Ever the gentlemen.” You state in a matter-of-fact tone, a big smile on your face.

“Well you tend to bring out more of our 40’s behaviour then most people do.” Steve says with his charming Captain America smile.

“Would you guys like something to drink, I’m going to order dinner to be brought up.” You say , grabbing the empty can and container from the coffee table, before heading to the kitchen.

“Are you sure you should be walk (Y/N), you technically should be resting.” Bucky says in a concerned tone.

“I feel good, the meds the Bruce gave me; seem to be making a difference.” You say with confidence, to reassure both men.

Since both men wouldn’t give you an answer you decided to take back 3 coke-cola cans and make your way back into the lounge, handing a can to Bucky and then to Steve. You pick up your phone from the coffee table as you sit back in your place.

“So what would you guys like for dinner? It’s my treat.” You say with a huge smile on your face.

“No it’s fine, we’re okay.” Steve says, with a slight blush working its way up his neck.

“So a bit of everything it is.” You say in a tone that told both men that you just had the final say in the matter.

You type up your request for dinner, making sure to order enough for 2 super soldiers and yourself; considering that you were on par with them when it came to eating. After placing your orders from the different restaurants, you sit back on the couch.

“We can change the movie if you want.” You say to Steve and Bucky.

“No, it’s perfectly fine; we haven’t seen this movie.” Steve says with his hands up in surrender.

“Are you sure, I could find something else; if you like.” You say with a smile.

“It would be great to see this movie from the beginning, if you’re okay with it?” Bucky says with his crooked grin; that you didn’t see that often.

“I don’t mind watching this movie from the beginning again; it’s actually one of my favourites.” You say as you burst out laughing.

Steve and Bucky look at each other a little confused by your laughter, before realisation hits and their eyes go wide.

“Sorry (Y/N).” Steve states, his face going a little shade of pink with embarrassment, as he rubs his hand on his neck “We forgot you lived through that time period...”

You couldn’t help, but smile at both men; still trying to stifle your laughter at the situation.

“So I have a question (Y/N)?” Bucky says with a shit-eaten grin on his face.

“Go for it Barnes.” You say grinning back at them.

“Did you like wearing those dresses?” Bucky asks with a sweet smile.

“Oh yeah, never my favourite time period; but I still had a bunch of fun.” You say with a laugh “So can I assume that you guys still want to watch the movie?”

“Yeah, sure.” Both men say in unison.

You give both men a nod and restart the movie from the beginning, all three of you got comfortable; you occasionally glance at both men while they’re watching the movie; intrigued by the era and time period.

There’s a knock at your apartment door, so you get up and let Steve and Bucky continue to watch the movie; as you open the door one of the compound security guards, brought all the food you ordered.

Grabbing all the bags, the thank the guard and close the door with your foot before walking back into the lounge; Steve and Bucky’s eyes go wide when they see the 8 bags worth of food that you ordered, Steve almost choking on his coke and Bucky playfully pats Steve’s back. You pause the movie after placing the bags on the floor near the coffee table.

“(Y/N) you really didn’t have to go through so much trouble to get us dinner.” Steve says with a sheepish smile.

“Speak for yourself perk, I’m truly grateful for the food.” Bucky says with a smirk.

“I can always count on you having an appetite Barnes.” You say with a whole-hearted laugh “Steve could you get plates and cutlery from the kitchen while I lay out the food?”

“Sure thing (Y/N).” Steve says getting up from the couch and walking into the kitchen.

“Can I help with anything (Y/N)?” Bucky asks getting up from his place on the couch.

“Maybe bring through more drinks, you guys can help yourselves to anything in the kitchen.” You say with a smile.

Grabbing you first bag, you lay out the boxes of different foods; as Steve walks back into the lounge with plates and cutlery, Bucky close behind him with beers and more coke-cola in his arms.

The various aromas from all the boxes is almost intoxicating and you can’t help the growl that your stomach gives off, both men laughing at you only to be caught when their own stomachs’ betray them and growl as well; causing you to laugh at them.

Steve leaves your plate and cutlery on the side table by your seat and walks over to where Bucky is placing the drinks to hand him his plate and cutlery; the guys wait with a smile as you dish up the food you want to eat, before they dig in for their first round.

You pressed play on the remote to continue watching the movie with Steve and Bucky; though you didn’t realise you were starving until, you finished the food on your place and got up from your seat to grab more food from the boxes; the assorted variety of different foods ensured that you curbed any food cravings you might of had, since you could feel your appetite to eat returning with gusto.

Steve, Bucky and you manage to finish all the food and finish all the drinks as well; everyone feeling full and content, the movie ended about 15 minutes after everyone finished eating.

You got up and stretched, wincing slightly when you felt a pain shoot through your right arm.

“Are you okay (Y/N)?” Bucky asks with concern.

“Yeah I’m okay, just a little stiff; from all the bed rest.” You say, hoping that both Bucky and Steve would believe you.

“Hey, why don’t you grab a shower to loosen your muscles, while Bucky and I clean up the lounge and kitchen for you?” Steve says with a smile.

“It’s okay guys, you don’t have and besides; you both also need to get some sleep yourselves.” You say with quirked eyebrows.

“Okay let’s make a deal then. Why don’t you grab a shower, while Steve and I clean up the lounge and kitchen and then he and I will head back to our apartments, so everyone can get a good night’s sleep?” Bucky says with a smirk.

You smile at Bucky, unable to argue with him on this; so you simply nodded and make your way to your bedroom, grabbing fresh pj’s and underwear from your closest before heading into the bathroom and closing the door behind you.

Stripping out of your clothes, you catch a glimpse of your back in the mirror and almost cringe; the lines on your back have become dark in some areas and there are more lines, it’s like watching connect the dots.

The only good thing is that the dark purple/ black veins steaming from the wound have stopped creeping further along your skin; you take off your underwear and get into the shower, setting the water to the right temperature, letting the water run down your body; the feeling is amazing and you feel your muscles relaxing with every stroke of water against your skin.

After you finish washing yourself, you turn the water off and climb out of the shower; towelling yourself off before putting on your pj’s; you had ensured that you had a long sleeve pj top so Steve and Bucky wouldn’t see the lines on your back the bandage around your arm.

Throwing your towel and clothes into your hamper, you make your way through to your bedroom and onto the lounge, where Steve and Bucky are sitting and watching a TV series about a zombie apocalypse; you can’t hide your snigger and that gets both their attention.

“How do you feel (Y/N)?” Steve asks with a smile.

“I’m good, you were right; I did need that shower.” You say with a grin “Thank you guys for cleaning up, though you really didn’t have to do that.”

“It was our pleasure (Y/N), it’s the least we could do; after you let us watch that movie with you and you gave us dinner as well.” Bucky says with a coy smile, his eyes sparkling in the reflection of the TV light.

“It was nothing, especially since you both were watching over me while I rested.” You say, shifting your weight from foot to foot.

“Well I think you could do with some more rest, we’ll let you get some sleep.” Steve says getting up from the couch, Bucky following suit.

You walk up to Steve and Bucky, giving each of them a hug and walking them to your apartment door and opening it for them to leave; as they step out into the corridor they both turn around and look at you.

“Goodnight (Y/N), sleep tight.” Steve says with hi charming innocent smile.

Though you don’t get a chance to respond; since Bucky chime in.

“Sweet dream (Y/N).” Bucky says giving you his winning smile.

‘Clearly they’re trying to outdo one another at this point.’ You think with a smirk.

“Goodnight guys, I hope you have a peaceful nights rest.” You say with sincerity in your voice.

Watching them both smile at you, as they turn around and head towards the elevator; you ait in the doorway and waves once they step into the elevator and the doors before you close the apartment door and head to bed for the night.

Curling into a ball under the covers on your bed, you feel tired; hopefully you’d get enough rest, so you could at least walk around the compound and interact with everyone. You feel your mind drifting towards unconsciousness and you let sleep take over, as you relax your body.

\---------------------------------------------------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The reader doesn't want to reveal the dream of the figure to Bruce and Tony, as the reader is afraid that admitting it happened would make it real for her.
> 
> Also the reader spending time, give the reader a chance to just spend time with them; even though they both love the reader. It's a sweet gesture for them keeping an eye on her, even though they can't get near her.


	46. Chapter 45

You wake up at the crack of dawn, slowly stretching across your bed before you sit up and rub the heel of your hands against your eyelids; your body doesn’t feel as sore as has been over the past couple of days.

Getting out of bed, you make your way to the bathroom to freshen up. You decide to get a little workout done while everyone is resting since it’s been almost a full week since your last workout day. So grabbing a long sleeve top and workout shorts, sneakers and socks; you make your way back to the bathroom and change into your workout clothes, throwing your PJ’s into the hamper.

Quietly making your way down to the training room, you decide to keep your workout simply to not over exert yourself; since you hadn’t been feeling a 100% up until this morning. You get through a couple of minutes of cycling on the exercise bike, before you move onto doing a bit of core work; but you’re interrupted by two voices calling your name.

You turn around to find Bucky and Steve in their gym clothes, looking completely and utterly shocked, if not somewhat upset to see you in the training room. Both men make their way over to you until the binding rings stop them from coming any closer.

“(Y/N), you know you're supposed to be resting.” Steve chides you, giving you a stern look as he crosses his arms over his chest.

“I know what everyone else wants, is for me to rest right now; but I’m feeling so much better and couldn’t stay in my apartment anymore.” You say shaking your head “It almost feels like being in prison.”

Bucky sniggers at your comparison and you can’t help but join him; which doesn’t seem to appease Steve.

“I get that you don’t want to be cooped up in your apartment anymore, but coming to do a full workout is not helping you.” Steve states with sympathy, but soon his facial expression changes to one of curiosity “Has Bruce examined you to give you the all clear (Y/N)?”

Clearly you would have to think of something, otherwise, you were going to be given a full interrogation by ‘Captain America’.

“No I haven’t seen Bruce yet, he’s still sleeping... So I just wanted to do a short warm up in the training room...” Your mind trying to find the right escape to get Steve to chill out, and then the idea hit you like a lightning bolt “To check that my body could handle a little exertion because I was going to ask you both if you wanted to go on a walk with me this morning.”

Both Bucky and Steve eyebrows quirk up in surprise, and you feel yourself relax a bit; knowing that you definitely got Steve off your back with your idea.

“Oh... I didn’t realise... I feel like such an idiot...” Steve stutters, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.

You grin at Steve, knowing that any minute now he would start blushing.

“So what do you say Barnes, you game for a walk?” you say with a smirk, giving him a wink.

Bucky can’t help but outright laugh at your attempt at being sneaky.

“Yeah... I’m all in (Y/N). Anything to spend a little time with you.” He says with his charming smile giving you a sly wink; you can’t help but notice how that smile makes him look younger and you smile back that him.

“Come on old men, let's go and see what nature has to show us today.” You say and start making your way towards the training room doors.

Steve and Bucky following as close to you, as the rings allow them; you lead the way out of the compound to the forest surrounding the compound. You’d walked this path many times before when you needed to get a little peace and quiet.

You turned around a couple of times, slowing down to walk closer to them.

“So you guys are being awfully quiet, something on your minds?” you say holding your hands behind your back.

“No… Ev-everything is fine.” Steve stammer, as a light blush, creeps across his cheeks.

“What this punk means, is that this place is beautiful, and he can’t find words to describe the scenery that you’re sharing with us.” Bucky chimes in, literally saving his bet friends ass.

“Barnes I have to admit that was a good save.” You say with a smirk, trying not to outright laugh as Steve’s cheeks go a darker shade of pink “I can’t wait for you guys to see my favourite spot in the forest.” You state with a smile as you continue to lead Steve and Bucky further into the forest.

After walking around another 10 minutes, you get to a mall clearing in the forest, the greenery I lush and beautiful. You turn around and see Steve and Bucky wide-eyed behind you, and you find yourself smiling as you carry on walking leaving them to take in the sight in front of them.

You leave both men standing just outside the clearing and walk into the middle of the clearing, taking a seat in the overgrown grass and wildflowers; you close your eyes and take a deep breath enjoying the different smells that you can pick up in the air.

After a few minutes, you hear the footsteps getting closer to you and you slowly open your eyes, watching as Steve and Bucky sit down as close as they can to you; bringing a dazzling smile to your face.

“This is my favourite place, the one place I can just breath and exist without having to think about anything else.” You say in a whisper, as the sun clears from behind a cloud; causing you to close your eyes again.

“It’s beautiful (Y/N), I can see the appeal of this place.” Bucky states with a smile; Steve nodding his agreement with his trademark smile.

“This is nothing you old men, this place is more special than what you’re seeing right now.” You say with a laugh.

“Oh really now, you’re getting a little cocky there; you just lucky that you have those binding rings on or I might have to teach you a lesson.” Bucky says with a smirk, and you swear you could see a direct reflection of his younger self.

“I think what (Y/N) meant to say, was that we’ve just existed in the world longer than most.” Steve states in a calm tone, trying to keep the smile he was fighting off his face.

“That’s not what I meant Steve and you know it.” You chime in “I’ll show you, just close your eyes, relax and take calming breaths.” You state crossing your legs under each other placing your hands on your knees, you close your eyes and take deep calming breaths.

Opening your eyes are a while reveals that Steve and Bucky are both doing the same thing as you, but what really makes you smile at the whole site, is seeing the animals in the forest that have slowly crept from the shade of the trees the surround the clearing to come and investigate the new addition.

***

You first found this place when you had first moved into the compound and you’d done your first mission with the whole team; you were so used to fighting with the Xmen that you made a stupid mistake that nearly cost Steve to lose his life.

 

You’d felt so dejected and disgusted with yourself, that you run out of the compound after returning from the mission and how you came to find this amazing little oasis of peace and happiness. The real surprise came when you managed to calm your emotions down completely, that you noticed that the smaller animals in the forest had been slowly making their way to you.

Eventually, one of the squirrels crept closer and placed its paw on your leg, making you smile as you wiped away a couple of stray tears. You watched as the other animals kept their eyes on the exchange between you and the squirrel, you gently placed your hand on the squirrel and it began to sniff your hand; slowly climbing onto your hand and making its way up your arm to your shoulders and neck.

You giggled to yourself, as it sniffed and nuzzled between your neck and shoulder; gently petting the squirrel the other animals made their way closer to you and slowly gained courage and sniffed your legs and shoes, you hadn’t felt this at peace in a while.

***

You open your left hand and place it on the ground, and you can’t help but have a shit-eaten grin on your face, as the same squirrel from your first encounter comes running onto your hand, up your arm and nestles by your neck and shoulder, sniffing contently at your ear and cheek.

“Guys... Slowly open your eyes and don’t make any sudden moves.” You say in a whisper, smiling as both men open their eyes; looking at you with worry, which is quickly replaced when they see the squirrel playing with your (Y/C) hair.

“Wow (Y/N), how did you get that little critter to play with you?” Bucky asks in complete awe.

You laugh as you shake your head, and smile at both men.

“This little guy’s been around since after my first mission with the team.” You say, your voice sounding vulnerable and sad.

“(Y/N) you know I don’t blame you for what happened back then.” Steve says locking eyes with you.

“I know Steve, but you’re missing my point. I landed up finding this place by accident when I ran from the compound, but this little guy made his way over to me and decided I was going to be his friend.” You say with a smile, watching as the squirrel made his way back down your arm and places its paws on your pants and looks up at you.

“Ah little guy, I forgot to bring you treats.” You say looking down at the little creature, as it makes its way over to your hand and nips at your fingers; as if to punish you,

“I know, I know, next time I’ll bring you something nice.” You say with a smile “Hey, I want you to meet two of my friends.”

The squirrel looks around at Bucky and Steve, which makes you laugh a little.

“Steve, Barnes don’t move; if this squirrel doesn’t like you then these animals around us aren’t going to either and I don’t know what they’ll do if they don’t people.” You say, slowly getting up as the squirrel runs up your left arm again.

“Barnes put both your hands out, so the squirrel can sniff your hands.” You chime, giving him your most delightful smile.

“(Y/N), I don’t think it’s going to like my left arm...” Bucky says in a small voice.

“I think I’ll let the squirrel decide what he likes and doesn’t like; you might just be surprised, Barnes.” You say in a confident tone.

You gently take the squirrel into your hands and place your hands in front of Bucky’s hands; the squirrel slowly moving closer to Bucky’s hands, sniffing and gently pawing at both hands. Then all of a sudden the squirrel walks from your hands into Bucky’s left hands and carries on its examination of Bucky’s arm making its way up his arm, to his shoulder.

“Barnes will you be okay with my little critter being on your left side?” you say, keeping your eyes on Bucky and the squirrel.

“Yeah... Yeah, it’s fine. This squirrel must be totally insane, to willing walk onto my metal hand.” Bucky says in amazement.

“Nope, this little critter is just a good judge of character, that’s all it is.” You say with a wide smirk on your face, Bucky meets your gaze and returns the smile.

You feel a little bump on your ankles and see a little black rabbit, gently nudging your leg to get your attention; which makes you laugh.

“Hey cutie pie, how are you?” you say to the rabbit, as you pick it up and hug it close to you; laughing as the rabbit tries to burrow into your crossed arms.

You look down at Steve who is watching you and Bucky with a whole-hearted smile on his face, which has you smirking; Bucky is so engrossed by the squirrel taking a liking to him that he reminds you of a child.

“Feeling a little left out Steve?” you say with a grin “Why don’t you see if you can steal this little sweetheart's heart?” you chime as you meet Steve’s gaze.

“I think I’m up for the challenge.” Steve states, placing his hands out to take the rabbit from you; you knee down and gently place the beautiful black rabbit into Steve’s huge hands.

You watch in awe as Steve brings the rabbit up to his face, the rabbit sniffing his face and trying to nuzzle under his chin into his neck and shoulder, you find yourself laughing and taking a seat in front of both men; almost touching knees.

Slowly, the other animals watching from a distance creep closer; as they watch the squirrel and rabbit having a ball of a time with the super-soldiers. All three of you spend most of the day enjoying each other’s company and that of the animals as well; only when your stomachs start to grumble loudly do you all decide to make your way back to the compound.

As you, Steve and Bucky walk into the kitchen together to get some food; Tony practically shouts across the room at you.

“WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN (Y/N)?!” Tony states in a demanding tone.

“Why are you shouting Tony? Sheesh man.” You say, your mood changing in an instant.

“I have been looking everywhere for you, I thought something happened to you.” Tony retorts, still agitated.

“I’m sure if you asked FRIDAY she would have told you that I left the compound with Steve and Bucky for a walk; you know that if I wasn’t fine that one of them would have come running back to the compound.” You almost shouted back.

Just as Tony was about to lose his cool altogether, Natasha chimes in.

“It’s good to see you up and about (Y/N).” Hat says with a smile, watching as Bucky and Steve moved between the pantry and fridge “So about this walk you and the super-soldiers went on, who was ‘leading’ the way?”

You shake your head as you laugh, knowing what Nat was getting at; but before you could answer Bucky pipes up.

“Nat you know full well that we’d lead (Y/N) ‘lead’ us anywhere she wants to.” Bucky states with a mischievous smirk on his face.

“Clearly, you guys won’t let me live this down... Just be grateful that the wild animals of the forest didn’t feel the need to feed upon the two old men.” You say with a laugh, you’re threatening eyes meeting Bucky’s almost daring him to carry on.

“Hey (Y/N) can I make you a sandwich, since I’m making for myself and Bucky?” Steve says with a sweet smile.

“Yeah sure, that would be amazing, thanks.” You say returning his smile.

Just as you take a seat at the kitchen counter with Natasha, Bruce comes walking into the kitchen and makes his way over to you.

“(Y/N), do you have a minute?” Bruce says with an innocent smile.

“Yeah sure.” You reply with a smile.

“Alright, let’s head down to the lab quickly and then you can come back and eat.” Bruce states, waiting for you to get up from your seat, you notice that Bucky and Steve are about to protest; but Bruce chimes in.

“It’s just a final check up, since (Y/N) is clearly feeling better. You’ll have (Y/N) back in a couple of minutes.” Bruce reassures both men, before turning to Tony who has been completely silent “You coming, Tony?”

Tony looks up from his phone and looks at Bruce and then at you, as you get off the barstool; you give Tony a big smile, hoping that he realises that you aren’t angry with him. He comes walking over and puts his arm around your shoulders walking you out of the kitchen with Bruce.

“I’ll get your sandwich ready so long.” Steve says with a smile.

“Thanks, Steve.” You say returning his smile “Barnes would you make some hot chocolate?” you ask getting Bucky’s attention.

Bucky meets your gaze and smiles “Sure I will. See you just now (Y/N).”

Tony, Bruce and you make your way to the elevator; the doors open and you three make your way down to Bruce and Tony’s lab. Once inside, Tony has FRIDAY dark out the glass walls, so nobody knows what’s going on.

Bruce grabs his bag and motions for you to take a seat on the examination table.

“So how are you feeling (Y/N)?” Bruce inquires with some concern in his voice.

“I’m actually feeling good. I slept like a log for once, and I didn’t get any pain from the wound; the only thing that I noticed was that the lines on my back were longer and there were new lines as well.” You say with a mild smile.

“Okay, so if you could please take your top off; I’d like to take a look at the wound and your back.” Bruce says in a meek tone, feeling somewhat uncomfortable having to ask you to partially strip.

“Yeah (Y/N) take it off.” Tony chimes in with a smirk on his face “Though on another note, FRIDAY confirmed those lines on your back are actual tattoo markings; we just need to know what it means.”

“I sure as hell wish I knew, I almost feel like I should know; but for some reason, I keep drawing a blank.” You say frowning your brows in concern and worry; as you remove your top

Bruce gets to work on removing the bandages, the wound isn’t better, but at the same time, it hasn’t worsened. He closes the wound and re-dresses the wound, and pulls out his equipment to draw blood.

“It seems like the cocktail that Tony and I created seems to be helping, so I’m just going to get some blood samples to test and then I’ll give you another dose.” Bruce says with a gentle smile.

“That’s good to know Brucie.” You say giving him a big smile.

“Well, I’m happy to report that we are having a party tonight then.” Tony pipes up, before you or Bruce and protest, Tony continues “Since (Y/N) is feeling better and my female driver won the race at NASCAR; there’s a lot to celebrate, so everyone has to suck it up.”

“Boss, Thor and Loki have arrived at the compound.” FRIDAY informs Tony.

“Tony, I’m really not in the mood for a big party.” You say giving him a stern look.

“It’s cool sweet cakes, it’s just the team.” Tony replies with a charming smile.

Once Bruce has gotten the blood samples and has injected you with another dose of the cocktail medication; you pull your top back on before heading back to the kitchen where Bucky and Steve have already finished eating.

“Hey (Y/N), how’s everything looking?” Bucky asks with concern.

“Seems like I’ll make a full recovery.” You reply with a smile.

“Here’s your sandwich (Y/N), I hope you like it.” Steve says with a Captain America smile, as he pushes your plate to where you were previously seated at the kitchen counter.

“Thanks, Steve.” You say pulling the plate closer and taking a hearty bite.

“Well (Y/N)’s definitely starving.” Bucky states with a laugh, as he walks over to the counter near the stove; to finish making the hot chocolate you asked for, walking back to the kitchen counter to place your mug of hot chocolate as close to you; before you went to pick up the mug, taking a long gulp enjoying the warmth chocolate taste that attacked your taste bud.

You smack your lip together and laugh as you see both Steve and Bucky look at you with quirked eyebrows.

“What? It’s really good hot chocolate.” You say with a shrug, as you carry on eating and drinking your hot chocolate.

“Sergeant Barnes, Captain Rogers, Miss (Y/N); Mr Stark has requested that you keep this evening free as he is hosting a team party this evening.” FRIDAY states in a neutral tone.

“And what exactly is Tony celebrating?” Steve asks the AI system in a wary voice.

“Mr. Stark insists the party is to celebrate the victory of his female driver at the NASCAR competition.” FRIDAY responds in a calm tone.

“Will Tony’s driver to at the party?” Bucky asks with a slight blush.

You and Steve both look at each other and try to hide your grins.

“According to my records, the invitation has been extended to Mr Stark’s driver; whether she will attend has not yet confirmed.” FRIDAY replies in a general tone.

“I think it’s safe to say that Barnes has found a new lady to peruse.” You state with a stern voice, though meeting Steve and Bucky’s gaze you burst out laughing; Steve catches on and starts laughing as well.

Before Bucky can make further inquiries, you get off your chair and stating you were going to get ready for the party; placing your mug and plate in the sink and rushing out of the kitchen, as Bucky pipes up.

“Hey, what’s that suppose to mean?” Bucky asks indignantly.

You’re already around the corner when you hear Steve respond “Well jerk, you supposedly like (Y/N) and now you’re asking about Tony’s female driver; what is she suppose to think.”

You never hear the rest of the conversation between Bucky and Steve, as you step into the elevator and head up your apartment to get ready for the party.


	47. Chapter 46

You slip into your apartment without having to interact with anyone, your mind feels a little fuzzy; kind of like a hornet’s nest, different thoughts, and images of your past. Shaking your mind, you make your way to your bedroom, walking into the bathroom to set the temperature of the shower before you strip down and step into the shower.

The water raining down on your body feels amazing on your skin, relaxing your muscles and clearing away the smell of the forest from your body; thinking over your day spent with Bucky and Steve, you can’t help but smile. You have such a love for nature, especially animals; there was a tranquil serenity about watching them in the wild that mesmerised you completely.

Logan and Remy never could fully understand your fascination with nature; Logan knew how to live in the wild, but failed to see the beauty and serenity of all of it and Remy had always been a lover of the city. Which meant you always took lonely trips into the forest parks to enjoy the serenity of the animals; you found it interesting that Bucky and Steve had been brought up in the city, but seemed to find peace and happiness, sitting on the forest ground with wild animals surrounding them.

‘Is it wrong that I felt so at peace sharing my love of nature with Bucky and Steve?’ you ponder, rubbing your forehead roughly still thinking about your question ‘This shouldn’t be happening... I’m not supposed to feel anything even remotely romantic towards anyone.’ You stress ‘Is Marge’s spell wearing off? Is the spell breaking?’ you could feel yourself getting more and more confused and concerned at the same time.

You lift your face up for the spray of water from the shower head to rain down on your face, hopefully getting you to calm down and relax; after a few minutes you turn the water off and grab a clean towel from the counter and dry yourself off, wrapping the towel around you as you make your way from the bathroom to your dressing table to put on a little makeup and style your hair.

Once you’re satisfied with your makeup and hairstyle, you step into your walk in closet and pick out a little blue stonewashed pair of Capri jeans and a cream coloured long sleeve button up blouse, grabbing a pair of matching cream flat pumps and black lace underwear on the way out of your closet.

You lay the clothes out on your bed and you unfasten the towel from your body and let it fall to the floor, getting dressed at a slow pace. You can hear music booming from common room and smile, only Tony could pull a party together this quick, you catch yourself off guard when I thought crosses your mind ‘Just like his father Howard Stark’ and you stared at your reflection in the mirror almost frozen. ‘I knew Tony’s father... How do I know Tony’s father?’ you ponder in panic.

I knock on your bedroom door startles you from your thought.

“Who is it?” you say, trying to keep your voice calm.

“It’s Nat and me, (Y/N)” Wanda says with a cheerful tone.

“Oh okay, just give me a minute; I’m nearly ready.” You say; quickly slipping on the blouse and buttoning it quickly, know that Nat could never wait patiently for you to be completely dressed.

As you finish buttoning your jeans and setting your blouse, you yell for Wanda and Nat to come into your bedroom, as you put on your pumps.

“(Y/N) you look beautiful.” Wanda says with a huge smile on her face.

“Yeah, so who are you trying to impress tonight?” Nat states with a quirked eyebrow.

“Funny Nat, you just love trying to taunt me.” You say with a smirk on your face.

“Well how about we make this evening interesting…” Nat says with a mischievous smile.

“Nat, please don’t…” Wanda says with a sigh, shaking her head.

“What are the stakes and game?” you ask with interest.

“One round of rock, paper, scissors. If I win; you don’t wear the binding rings tonight.” Nat states with utter confidence and a winning smirk.

“And if I win?” you state returning Nat’s smirk; already eyeing the mirror by your dressing table ‘A little cheating never hurt.’ You think to yourself.

“I’ll do all your mission reports for the next 6 months.” Nat says, maintaining her smirk.

“(Y/N) please don’t engage Nat in her crazy bet.” Wanda pleads with you.

“It’s okay Wanda.” You say, letting her into your mind; showing her that you were going to use the dresser mirror “I think I’ll indulge Nat in this little bet.”

Wanda gives you a small smile and takes a seat on your bed, watching the exchange between you and Nat.

“Oh (Y/N) I am still waiting to for you to ‘indulge’ in anything besides, helping the innocent and doing missions.” Nat says with an overconfident smile.

“Well Nat, you might get to it sometime. So are you ready or do I need to make an appointment with your busy assassin schedule?” you say with a laugh, Wanda sniffles her laugh with a cough.

“Oh, it’s on now (Y/N).” Nat says with sparkling green eyes focused on you “Ready?”

You nod in agreement and both of you play your dominant hand behind your back. You play it casually, keeping the mirror in your peripheral vision and watch which sign Nat picks.

“Alright, on three. One… Two… Three.” Nat states and she shows the paper sign with her hand; the smirk on her face evident, until she looks at your hand which shows the sign for scissors.

Her smirk fades into one of suspicion.

“How the hell did you! There’s no way (Y/N)… Wanda, you helped her, didn’t you?” Nat says in her serious assassin, ass kicking tone.

“Nope she didn’t Nat and you know it. Next time take a better look at your surroundings my darling hatchling.” You say with a smirk, slowly pointing towards her reflection in the mirror.

“Oh for fuck sakes!!! How the hell did I miss that one?” Nat say with an irritated tone, which disappears almost immediately; when FRIDAY’s voice pipes up.

“The boss requests all of you at the party downstairs.” FRIDAY states in a calm tone.

“Ah FRIDAY why don’t you just give us his exact words.” You say in a joking manner.

“I believe his exact words were ‘All of you get your sexy asses down to this party before I bring the party to you.’” FRIDAY states in a somewhat amused tone.

“Well, that doesn’t surprise me in the least.” Nat states with a laugh.

You look at Wanda and find her trying to hide the blush of her cheeks.

“He made you feel uncomfortable, didn’t he?” you ask Wanda with a motherly smile.

“It’s weird being referred to having a sexy backside.” Wanda says in a small voice.

“I’m going to swap out his expensive bourbon with piss, I swear.” Nat states in a threatening tone.

“Come on girls; let’s get down there before he brings everyone to my apartment. I am not ready to have a full-blown Stark party in my bedroom.” You say with a laugh, opening your arms; which is your usual sign for a girls group hug.

After a minute, you separate from your group hug, the three of you exiting your apartment and heading for the elevator. The conversation between the three of you moves to the one time, that Tony had insisted on a party and tried to grope your ass and got flung across the room, causing his bottle of bourbon to smash into a thousand pieces, the bourbon seeping across the floor slowly.

While the three of you were laughing about how he was literally trying not to cry, the elevator doors open and Clint and Bruce smile at all of you.

“Well hello ladies, care to join us?” Clint asks with a confident smirk.

“Oh, why not.” You say walking in with a smile.

Clint extends both his arms, you take his right arm and Wanda gently takes his left shyly. Nat of course steps next to Bruce and slides her arms around his right arm, giving him her signature smile.

The elevator doors close, and makes its way down to the party; everyone taking a little silence they can get, before having to be exposed to the noise that is Tony Stark’s party. As the elevator doors open, Vision is floating a few metres ahead and looks at everyone.

Wanda immediately lets go of Clint’s arm and runs over to Vision with a gorgeous smile on her face.

“Well, there goes my idea for a threesome tonight.” Clint states with a sigh, trying to hide his smile.

“Oh, am I not enough woman for you Clint?” you say playing along with his joke.

Bruce, Nat, Clint and you make your way into the common room; which has been transformed completely. Bruce and Nat wonder off to speak with Sam near the dance floor.

“So, where to (Y/N)?” Clint asks in a wide grin.

“Why do I get the feeling you’re trying to irritate certain people Clint?” you say with quirked eyebrows, with a smirk.

Clint flails innocence and hurt, as he places his left hand on his chest; you can’t help but laugh at his actions.

“I think we can start off at the bar and see where it goes from there. What do you say Mr. Barton?” you say in a light tone.

“I’ll have to say, please don’t call me Mr. Barton and I’m totally up for starting at the bar.” Clint gives you a mischievous smile, before leading you over to the bar.

You take a sit in the corner shielding your right arm on the bar counter, with your right arm staying on the bar, you press your back against the wall.

The bartender comes over and asks what he can get for you, giving you a coy smile; you tell him you’ll have a ‘Cane and orange juice’ to start off, and you can’t help but laugh as Clint, clears his throat and gives the bartender an annoyed look.

The bartender apologises and takes Clint’s order, and walks away to prepare both your orders.

“Don’t look now, but there’s two creepy old men eyeing you (Y/N).” Clint says with a concerned tone, though his smile wasn’t convincing you at all.

You slowly turn your head and see both Steve and Bucky standing at the other end of the common room, both had their arms folded with brooding expressions on their face; staring at the bar. Before you can comment on Clint’s remark the bartender arrives with your drink and Clint’s.

The bartender places Clint’s drink sloppily in front of Clint; and moves over to you, giving you a wide confident smile as he tries to slide your drink as close to you as possible. Unfortunately, for the bartender he becomes a victim to the binding rings; and has to leave your drink in the middle of the counter before he frowns and walks off to serve other people at the bar.

You look and Clint and burst out laughing.

“He is going to be wondering about that for the rest of the night (Y/N).” Clint says wiping away a stray tear, as he tries to calm his laughter down.

You can’t help but laugh even more, barely getting out a sentence “Well Clint… I- I don’t know what’s… f- fun- funnier.” You have to place your hand on your chest to catch your breath; Clint takes a sip of his drink and waits for you to speak again.

“The fact that I need to watch your back and the bartender’s back; because Steve and Barnes look like they’re about ready to beat to two, into a bloody pile.” You say, grabbing your drink and taking a big gulp from it, wrinkling your nose as the cane hits your throat.

As you place your drink down, you see Clint’s body stiffen as his facial expression turns to one of fear.

“Okay (Y/N), I’m outta here. I love you but I ain’t fighting two super-soldiers for you.” Clint states; grabbing his drink and making a beeline for Nat, Bruce, and Sam.

You turn around to see Steve and Bucky walking towards you, each giving you their best smile.

“Well, well, well; at this rate, you’ll scare away any guys wanting to get my attention.” You say with a hearty laugh.

Steve starts to blush and Bucky lowers his eyes to the floor for a moment before he replies.

“Well, I can’t let these fellas try and have their way with you (Y/N); you’re way more important than a one-night thing.” Bucky says with a charming smile, keeping eye contact with you.

Just as you’re about to give Bucky a cheeky response, you see Steve and Bucky’s facial expressions change into annoyance and irritation, you turn around to investigate and find the bartender looking absolutely terrified behind the bar.

You give the bartender a kind smile, deciding to move away from the bar for his own safety.

“I’m going to mingle around a little, I’ll see you both a bit later.” You say to Bucky and Steve, who give you a polite nod and smile, before proceeding to the bar and ordering their drinks.

You strategically make your way around the common room, spending a little time with everyone on the Avengers team; you’re interrupted a couple of times by Nat and Wanda grabbing you and dragging you to the dance floor to enjoy their favourite songs with them.

The evening goes by with enough fun, music, drinks, and laughter; eventually, the people hired to serve, clear and DJ at the party clock off, leaving the whole Avengers team sitting around on the couches and chairs, enjoying each other’s company; many having lost their fight with Thor’s Asgardian liquor.

You notice that Loki had been extremely quiet this evening, looking suspiciously around the room at odd moments. But you never get to ask, as Tony takes control of the conversation.

“Hey guys, let’s play Truth of Dare!” Tony exclaims in an overly loud voice, considering the amount of alcohol he’s consumed.

“Tony, you know that didn’t end well for you last time.” You say in a kind voice.

“Oh come on (Y/N), stop spoiling my fun. God knows I need it with all the shitting I’ve had to stress and work on.” Tony states nonchalantly, causing you to look at him in fear that he might let slip about your wound and tattoo.

“Okay, fine Tony; let’s play. Truth or dare Tony?” you say in a cold and distant tone.

“Dare!” Tony exclaims in an excited voice.

“I dare you not to have any more alcohol tonight.” You say with a smirk.

Tony’s face drops and he sighs heavily before replying “This is punishment, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about Tony.” You say casually, eyeing everyone as they try not to laugh at Tony’s misfortune.

“Okay fine, my turn.” Tony states with overconfidence, a smirk playing on his face.

“Hey, Thor, how much of that Asgardian liquor have you still got?” Tony asks innocently.

“Tony, don’t do it.” Steve says in his Captain America voice.

Tony completely ignores Steve and stares straight at Thor.

“I still have around a dozen bottles. Why do you ask Stark?” Thor says with a curious look on his face.

“(Y/N) I dare you to drink a whole bottle of Thor’s Asgardian liquor in one go.” Tony says in triumph, crossing his arms over his chest with a smirk.

“Well firstly Tony, you need to ask me ‘Truth or dare’ and see which one I pick.” You say with a laugh shaking your head.

Steve and Bucky both pipe up “You don’t have to do it (Y/N).”

“It's okay guys, Tony is just pissed that I ended his drinking binge. Thor, think you could spare a bottle for me?” you ask Thor sweetly; watching as Thor throws you a bottle he had concealed in his jacket pocket, as you catch the bottle you notice Loki’s eyes narrow in distrust and anger.

Nat catches your attention, shaking her head and mumbling something to Bruce. You sense Wanda asks to get permission to get into your mind, but you deny her access and Wanda looks at Nat with concern.

“(Y/N) I think you’re taking on a challenge that’s bigger than you.” T’Challa states in a neutral tone.

“If it is, then at least Tony and everyone can finally say that they’ve seen me drunk.” You say with a laugh, turning the situation into a joke.

You open the bottle, take a deep breath and down the Asgardian liquor in one breath; Tony looking in total awe, until Bruce takes a seat next to him and whispers in his ear and his face goes serious. But no one really notices except Loki, everyone else in the group bursts into shouts of cheer and laughter.

Placing the bottle gently on the coffee table, you lean back on the couch to catch your breath ‘Shit that stuff packs a punch.’ You think; you relax and watch as the game carries on with everyone participating, even Loki.

Many of the questions from the guys to Tony were to try and find out who his female driver is, but he willingly takes a punishment for not revealing the identity of the driver. Eventually, Nat completes the dare you gave her and it’s her to turn to ask you.

“So (Y/N), truth or dare?” Nat says with a wicked smile.

“Truth, Nat.” you say with a grin.

“Are you Tony’s female driver?” Nat asks with a sparkle in her eye.

You are completely silent and everyone is looking around, waiting with baited breath for your answer.

You sigh and answer Nat’s question “Yes… Yes, I am Tony’s female driver for NASCAR and for Formula 1.”

Chaos reigns as everyone starts throwing questions at you, but Nat puts an end to that as soon as it’s started; though you start to feel slightly dizzy, the feeling of pins and needles in your head, but you try to brush it off as nothing.

Finally, the last person to go is Loki and you smile as he sits up straighter, keeping eye contact with you.

“Truth or dare (Y/N)?” Loki asks with a serious face.

“Truth, Loki.” You say in a calm tone, hoping that no one has picked up on your physical discomfort.

“Do you remember anything from your early childhood?” Loki asks with suspicion, narrowing his eyes at you.

You feel your body heating up, almost like you’re getting a fever and you can’t control the anger that slips out of your mouth when you answer his question.

“I’m so glad you asked that Loki. Tell me when you were planning on telling me that you kidnapped me from my home and left me on this planet alone?” you snarl almost shouting at him “You came into my bedroom and stole me from my bed when I was three years old.”

Your body was literally shivering from the anger rolling off of you, everyone jumping in try to control and contain the situation; but before they can really do anything and before you have a chance to get control of your emotions and body, you lose control of your body and mind, it's like something or someone has taken over your body and mind; you watch helplessly as your body lunges at Loki.


	48. Chapter 47

Bruce’s POV

You pretend to be busy, as you watch (Y/N) leave your lab; getting new slides ready to test and actively avoiding Tony’s gaze.

“You gonna tell me what’s up, or are you gonna make me guess Brucie?” Tony says with a grin, as he types away on his phone.

“Tony you know exactly why I’m being quiet right now.” You say in a calm tone, keeping your focus on the task in front of you.

“Oh come on Bruce, everyone has been wound up tight, ever since (Y/N) got back and everyone just needs a night to just relax.” Tony says, sounding somewhat frustrated.

“And what about (Y/N)’s recovery? Or did you forget about that?” you snap at Tony, trying to keep yourself calm.

“(Y/N) is doing well, the substance has stopped spreading through her body and she’s more like herself now. Why can’t we have a laidback evening, where we can all ‘let our hair down’?” Tony say, looking up at you from his phone, before sliding his phone into his jeans pocket.

“Tony you’re getting ahead of yourself…” you state in a matter of fact tone “Remember last time you got ahead of yourself, we had a multitude of situations that needed to be fixed.

“Oh come on Banner, you know what if it’s such an issue for you then don’t come; but I for one am going to enjoy one night of fun with everyone.” Tony states in an annoyed tone, making his way out of the lab.

“Well, there’s goes my extra set of hands.” You say with a sigh, carrying on with testing (Y/N)’s blood against previous results.

Minutes tick by and you manage to give your work complete focus and concentration, that you don’t notice Natasha entering your lab.

“Hey, there Brucie bear.” Nat says, standing behind you and wrapping her hands around your waist.

“Hey there baby, what brings you to my lab?” you ask, still keeping your eyes on the slides you’re examining.

“I was just coming to see if you might have had any news information on (Y/N)’s condition?” Nat asks in a sweet voice, you can feel her smiling into your shoulder blade, as she hugs you tightly.

You turn around in your chair and see Nat dressed to the nines, you pull her into your arms, holding her close to your chest; nuzzling into Nat’s hair.

“The substance infecting her body has stopped spreading, but there’s been a new development; which Tony and I can’t explain, even Dr. Cho is baffled.” You say in a defeated tone.

“What new development Bruce?” Nat asks her full attention on receiving this new information.

You take your glasses off and pinch the bridge of your nose, before placing your glasses back on your face.

“The day after (Y/N) collapsed in her apartment, lines started appearing on her back; it’s been progressing steadily, we don’t know where it originated from.” You state in a beaten voice, sighing as you shake your head.

“Bruce, are those lines hurting her? What do they mean?” Nat asks you in a concerned voice.

“The lines don’t hurt as far as we can tell, FRIDAY did a full scan and says that they resemble tattoo markings. It’s almost like an image is trying to form itself on her back, we just can’t tell if it’s related to the wound or not.” You say, releasing Nat and making to get up from your chair.

“Hey, hey…” Nat states and places her hands on either side of my face “We’ll figure it out, baby.”

You pull Nat close to your chest and kiss her, she was always the person who could give you reassurance and confidence; when you felt like you were failing and falling apart. Nat slowly untangles herself from you and smiles.

“So I hear Tony is throwing a party for all of us tonight.” Nat says with a smirk.

“And here I thought you were dressing like this to get my attention.” You say with a laugh, but just as quickly your mood changes “I told him, it wasn’t a good idea. Especially with (Y/N) still not a 100%.” You becoming a bit irritated that Tony didn’t listen to you.

“(Y/N) seems to be doing pretty well; especially this morning when she went for a walk with Steve and Barnes.” Nat states with a mischievous smirk on her face.

“Really, since when does she share her ‘secret path’ in the forest with anyone in this compound?” you ask with curiosity, your eyebrows quirked with a smile, “I thought she couldn’t feel any romantic feelings towards anyone with the spell and binding rings?”

“So did I, but I think she might actually be trying to make an effort in spending time with Steve and Barnes; since she knows they really like her.” Nat states with a smile “I think I’m going to try and get her to leave her rings off tonight.”

“Nat, don’t you think you might be playing with fire?” you say with concern “You know that she will never agree to that.”

“Oh Brucie bear, leave this little game to me. Now you need to go upstairs to get ready for the party.” Nat says in her authoritative voice, making you smile; because God help you because you were a helpless mess when she spoke in that tone of voice.

Nat turns around and makes her way out of the lab towards the elevator; your eyes watching her hips swaying seductively as she leaves.

‘That woman will be the death of me.’ You think, shaking your head before turning back to your work.

You set up a dozen more tests before you decide to call it quits and head upstairs to your shared apartment with Nat; ensuring that FRIDAY informs you of any new developments with the test results.

You quickly shower and get dressed semi-casual; you couldn’t bring yourself to put the same level as Nat into dressing for parties. Giving yourself a once over to check that you looked okay, you made your way down to the elevator, as the doors open you hear Clint call from behind you to hold the doors open; you smile and keep the doors open for him.

“Thanks, man, I thought I was going to take the stairs.” Clint says with a grateful smile.

“It’s okay, I’m sure Nat might just kill me if I miss this party.” You say with a laugh.

“Nah, you’re in her good books; promise Doc.” Clint says with a smirk.

“So Laura couldn’t make it?” you ask out if curiosity.

“Nope, it’s a school night; plus we couldn’t get a babysitter on such short notice.” Clint says with a smile “And I promised Laura I wouldn’t get into any trouble, so she’s okay with me partying alone tonight.”

As you’re about to reply, the elevator stops and the doors open to reveal Nat, Wanda and (Y/N) all laughing about something.

“Well hello ladies, care to join us?” Clint asks with a confident smirk.

“Oh, why not.” (Y/N) says walking into the elevator with a smile.

Clint extends both his arms, (Y/N) taking his right arm and Wanda gently takes his left shyly.

Nat of course steps next to you and slides her arms around your right arm, giving you her signature smile. ‘God I love you Nat.’ you think as you return her smile.

The elevator doors close, making its way down to the party; everyone taking a little silence they can get, before having to be exposed to the noise that is Tony Stark’s party. As the elevator doors open, Vision is floating a few metres ahead and looks at everyone.

Wanda immediately lets go of Clint’s arm and runs over to Vision with a gorgeous smile on her face.

“Well, there goes my idea for a threesome tonight.” Clint states with a sigh, trying to hide his smile.

“Oh, am I not enough woman for you Clint?” (Y/N) says playing along with his joke.

You, Nat, Clint and (Y/N) make your way into the common room; which has been transformed completely. You and Nat leave Clint and (Y/N) by the entrance of the common room, as you two wonder over to speak with Sam near the dance floor.

Sam is almost beside himself with excitement and you can’t help but smile as Sam talks about wanting to dance and flirt with Tony’s driver; you are saved by Nat eventually when she asks you for a dance, which you reluctantly agree to; because you are no dancer, but somehow Nat manages to make you look and feel like an expert every single time.

“How about a drink sweetheart?” you ask, as the song ends.

“I could use one.” Nat states with a smile, holding your hand as you both make your way to the bar to get your drinks.

The evening processes with laughter and fun, with everyone asking at least once where Tony’s driver could be. And of course Tony is vague on an answer, though every time the subject was brought up; Nat seemed to sneak a peek at (Y/N) a split second before returning to the conversation. ‘Strange, why is Nat looking at (Y/N) like that?’ you ponder.

Eventually, all of the Avengers are sitting on the couches talking and laughing with the different chatter going on between everyone, until Tony shout something about playing ‘Truth or Dare’, not a good idea in your opinion; you decided to stay out of the game after you nearly hulked out over the last party game that Tony wanted to play.

“Tony, you know that didn’t end well for you last time.” (Y/N) says in a kind voice.  
“Oh come on (Y/N), stop spoiling my fun. God knows I need it with all the shitting I’ve had to stress and work on.” Tony states nonchalantly, causing you to look at him in fear that he might let slip about your wound and tattoo.

‘This is not going to end well.’ You think looking between Tony and (Y/N); you try to make eye contact with Tony to warn him, about (Y/N)’s current condition; but Tony is focused on (Y/N).

“Okay, fine Tony; let’s play. Truth or dare Tony?” (Y/N) says in a cold and distant tone.

“Dare!” Tony exclaims in an excited voice.

“I dare you not to have any more alcohol tonight.” (Y/N) states with a smirk.

You have to conceal a laugh, when you see Tony’s face drops, he sighs heavily before replying “This is punishment, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about Tony.” (Y/N) says casually, eyeing everyone as they try not to laugh at Tony’s misfortune.

“Okay fine, my turn.” Tony states with overconfidence, a smirk playing on his face.

“Hey, Thor, how much of that Asgardian liquor have you still got?” Tony asks innocently.

‘Oh shit!’ you think in a panic, ‘I have to stop this now.’; but before you can get a word out Steve speaks.

“Tony, don’t do it.” Steve says in his Captain America voice.

Tony completely ignores Steve and stares straight at Thor.

“I still have around a dozen bottles. Why do you ask Stark?” Thor says with a curious look on his face.

“(Y/N) I dare you to drink a whole bottle of Thor’s Asgardian liquor in one go.” Tony says in triumph, crossing his arms over his chest with a smirk.

“Well firstly Tony, you need to ask me ‘Truth or dare’ and see which one I pick.” (Y/N) says with a laugh shaking her head; you try to get her attention but it’s no use unless you want everyone to know that something’s not right.

Steve and Bucky both pipe up “You don’t have to do it (Y/N).”

You place your head near Nat’s ear and whisper “She really shouldn’t do it, we don’t know what could happen with her mixing alcohol with the meds we’ve given her.”; Nat looks about you before she tries to make eye contact with (Y/N).

“It's okay guys, Tony is just pissed that I ended his drinking binge. Thor, think you could spare a bottle for me?” (Y/N) asks Thor sweetly; watching as Thor throws (Y/N) a bottle he had concealed in his jacket pocket.

You watch as Nat catches (Y/N)’s attention, shaking her head and mumbles in your ear “Baby I don’t think she’s going to listen to reason right now; I’m going to ask Wanda to get into (Y/N)’s head to warn her. You nod and keep watching the scene before you, but your anxiety increases when you see Wanda give Nat a concerned look ‘Shit damn it.’ You think, you sigh and shake your head.

“(Y/N) I think you’re taking on a challenge that’s bigger than you.” T’Challa states in a neutral tone.

“If it is, then at least Tony and everyone can finally say that they’ve seen me drunk.” (Y/N) says with a laugh, turning the situation into a joke.

As (Y/N) opens the bottle, and takes a deep breath before downing the Asgardian liquor in one breath.

You get up and move to sit next to Tony and whisper “Do you realise I you could be doing to her current medical condition by introducing alcohol to your bloodstream with the cocktail we injected her with?”

Looking casually around the room you notice Loki watching the whole scene of (Y/N) drinking and your exchange with Tony.

“Shit Bruce, I’m sorry; I’ll tone it down I promise.” Tony whispers in your ear.

You remain seated by Tony, both of you keeping an eye on (Y/N) as discreetly as possible, watching quietly as everyone joins in the game, even Loki.

Many of the questions from the guys to Tony were to try and find out who his female driver is, but he willingly takes a punishment for not revealing the identity of the driver.

Eventually, Nat completes the dare that (Y/N) gave her and it's Nat’s turn to ask (Y/N) ‘Truth or Dare’.

“So (Y/N), truth or dare?” Nat says with a wicked smile.

“Truth, Nat.” (Y/N) says with a grin.

“Are you Tony’s female driver?” Nat asks with a sparkle in her eye.

‘Where the hell did that question come from?’ you ponder, looking at Nat in shock. Everyone is sitting in complete and utter silence waiting for (Y/N) to answer; even you find yourself intrigued to know that answer.

(Y/N) sighs and states “Yes… Yes, I am Tony’s female driver for NASCAR and for Formula 1.”

Chaos reigns as everyone, excluding yourself and Tony starts throwing questions at (Y/N), but Nat puts an end to that as soon as it’s started; getting the game to continue.

Finally, the game comes to the last person, which is Loki and you watch as (Y/N) smiles, as Loki sits up straighter, keeping eye contact with (Y/N).

“Truth or dare (Y/N)?” Loki asks with a serious face.

“Truth, Loki.” (Y/N) says in a calm tone, but you notice that she is shifting ever so slightly and you nudge Tony to get his attention; Tony simply nods and continues to watch the exchange.

“Do you remember anything from your early childhood?” Loki asks with suspicion, narrowing his eyes at (Y/N).

‘Where the hell did that question come from?’ you think, looking around at the group in shock; other faces having the same look.

As you look back at (Y/N), you notice something off with her posture and voice.

“I’m so glad you asked that Loki. Tell me when you were planning on telling me that you kidnapped me from my home and left me on this planet alone?” (Y/N) snarls at Loki “You came into my bedroom and stole me from my bed when I was three years old.”

‘Oh my God, (Y/N)’s not a mutant she’s from another planet.’ You think in astonishment.

“Tony, we need to end this now; something is about to happen.” You say in a hushed voice, but both super-soldiers hear you, as does T’Challa and Thor; but before anyone can move to do anything you watch in horror as (Y/N) lunges at Loki.

“What the hell is going on?” Steve shouts as he tries to get Loki away from (Y/N), but there’s no luck because of the binding rings.

“Dr. Banner I have Professor Charles Xavier on the line.” FRIDAY’s voice chimes.

“Put him through FRIDAY.” You say trying to stay away from the fight, just in case you lost control.

You can’t help the shivering that’s taking over your body, as you watch (Y/N) fighting everyone that tries to pry her from Loki.

“Dr. Banner?” Professor Xavier’s voice comes through over the speakers.

“Professor, we have a problem; (Y/N) has gone berserk and is attacking Loki, one of our teammates.” You say.

“That’s why I’m calling, you need to sedate her and isolate her right now; before she hurts others and herself. I’m on my way to the Avengers compound as we speak.” Professor Xavier says, as calmly as he can.

“Okay Professor Xavier, we’ll do everything in our power to get her isolated.” You say ending the call.

“Tony, get the sedative for the Hulk now.” You say in a strained voice.

“Bruce what the hell is going on?!” Bucky shouts, anger riddles across his face, Steve shadowing Bucky heading to towards you.

“Look, I’ll explain everything as soon as we have (Y/N) sedated and in the Hulk isolation tank. Right now she could kill all of us if we don’t hurry up.” You say in a stern voice “Steve, Bucky please get the tank ready, while we try to sedate her.”

Steve and Bucky simply nod, not happy with your response and head out of the common room. You turn back to the fight in front of you; just as you’re about to let Nat know she has an opening to take down (Y/N); Tony shots (Y/N) with the same sedative to calm down the Hulk.

“Guys we need to get her into the isolation tank now; Professor Xavier is on the way here right now.” You say, still fighting to keep the Hulk in check.

Everyone is shouting questions at you and Tony, which is not helping the situation right now.

“Look can we just get (Y/N) into the isolation tank and we can have a team meeting as soon as Professor Xavier gets here.” Tony states in an irritated tone.

Everyone goes quiet, Thor helps Loki up and walks out of the common room; the rest of the Avengers look at (Y/N)’s limp form on the floor.

Finally Tony takes it upon himself to pick (Y/N) up off the floor, heading for the lift; everyone following behind; except you, you feel like such a failure. Your body is still shivering and you’re trying to hold back tears that threaten to streak your face, you freeze as a pair of arms encloses around you.

“Hey…” Nat’s voice whispers in your ear “Hey baby, can you hear me? Everything is going to be okay.”

You take deep breaths and finally reply after a few minutes “Nat everything is not going to be fine; I still haven’t found a way to save her and after this display and Professor Xavier calling only confirms that I’ve failed.” You say in a defeated voice.

“Bruce, please don’t speak like that we’ll find a way.” Nat says in calm voice “Let’s go meet with the team, everyone needs to know what’s going on.”

You nod sheepishly and keep your arm wrapped around Nat’s waist, heading towards the elevator.


	49. Chapter 48

Loki’s POV

Thor and you arrive at the Avenger’s compound after going to Asgard for a couple of days; in all honesty you could have happily stayed in Asgard, but you just can’t bear being in the same palace as Odin; not after everything and losing Frigga as well.

You smell a faint whiff in the air and it unsettles you; ‘They couldn’t be here.’ You think trying to stay rational ‘I must be imagining it.’ You whisper to yourself.

“Did you say something brother?” Thor asks with a curious look on his face.

“I did not say a word. Now if you’ll excuse me I’m going to my apartment.” You say and walk off leaving Thor standing on the lawn by himself.

Making your way to the elevator, the scent you smelled outside was stronger inside the compound; you were becoming increasingly uncomfortable, so you created different illusions to protect you as you made your way into the elevator as soon as the doors opened, pressing the button for your floor, trying to get back to your apartment as soon as possible.

Once you’re safe in the confines of your apartment, call out to FRIDAY.

“FRIDAY?” you ask in a stern voice.

“Yes, Mr. Lauyfeson?” FRIDAY’s voice answers you.

“Has we had any guests at the compound while I was away?” you ask without seeming overly inquisitive.

“No Mr. Laufeyson, we have had no unauthorised persons on the compound property during yours and Thor’s absence.” FRIDAY states in a neutral tone.

“Have any unusual events happened while Thor and I were away?” you ask, as the scent you got was so familiar that you got shivers up and down your spine; hoping that ‘they’ weren’t here on earth.

“The only events that have occurred during your absence are that majority of the Avengers team had a food fight and (Y/N) blacked out in her apartment a few days ago.” FRIDAY says without giving any further explanation on the matter.

“Is (Y/N) alright?” you ask with a frown, ‘Could they have found her?’ you think to yourself.

“(Y/N) is currently stable and will be attending the party Mr. Stark has planned for this evening.” FRIDAY responds in a calm tone “Shall I let Mr. Stark know of your attending this evening?” FRIDAY queries with you.

“I will be attending, thank you FRIDAY.” You state with finality, knowing that the AI system would not give you any further information.

“Of course Mr. Laufeyson.” FRIDAY replies and your apartment is replaced with silence.

You mull around in your apartment, eventually taking a seat on your couch trying to think of the reasons why ‘they’ would be on earth and after a while, you could only think of two reasons and both would be bad situations for everyone including yourself.

Your mind was working overtime on both options ‘How the hell did they find out I was on earth? There must be a mole in the palace on Asgard... Or have they found (Y/N)? I was so careful with our mother when we took her from her room.’ You ponder in deep thought for quite a while, before you realise that someone is knocking on your apartment door.

You get up from your place on the couch and open the door, to see Thor standing there looking happily at you.

“Brother, FRIDAY says you will be joining the team for the festivities this evening. Are you ready to go down to the common room?” Thor asks with a wide smile on his face; that smile was the same one he gave you since you were children.

You look at Thor with a complacent expression and reply “Yes I am attending, no I’m not ready.”

“It’s alright brother; I can wait for you if you like?” Thor says with a hopeful expression on his face.

You sigh deeply and open the door to your apartment wider for Thor to walk on, remembering that Frigga would be happy with you letting Thor spend a little brotherly time.

“I shouldn’t be too long, please try not to touch anything. You may use the TV if you wish to distract yourself in the meantime.” You state in a stern tone, looking a Thor who gives you a big smile, taking a seat on the couch and grabbing the TV remote turning the TV onto some ridiculous program about past Midgardian wars.

Walking into your bedroom, you step into your closet to pick out your clothes for this evening and laying them out on your bed before heading to the bathroom to have a shower. Getting dressed quickly, Thor and you meet most of the Avengers in the common room; you promptly go to the bar and order a drink and pick a spot in the darker corners of the common room and watch everyone interacting and dancing.

Your mind wonders as you take a sip of your drink, looking out of the window towards the forest; your heart sinks a bit remembering the walks you used to take with Frigga in the gardens of the palace on Asgard.

However, your mind is pulled from your thoughts when you catch that same strong scent and turn your head to see Clint, Nat, Bruce and (Y/N) entering the common room; your senses almost screaming for you to be on alert for trouble.

As the night progresses you decide to clone yourself, hiding within the shadows to see if you could find the source of the scent that had you in a state of paranoia and anxiety; slowly but surely you narrow down the list of people that could be your suspect.

Eventually you return to the place where your clone has been standing and break the illusion and retake your place; as you take in a deep breath, ready to sigh at not having found what you were looking for an overwhelming level of that scent infests your nostrils as (Y/N) walks past heading to the couches.

You have is an overwhelming urge to capture her and interrogate her, as to why she smells just like the elders that had captured and tortured him. But you stop yourself as a thought passes your mind ‘They’ve found her... That’s the only way this could make any sense. What does she remember from her younger years?’ you wonder, slowly and stealthy making your way over to the couches as well.

Taking a sit on the couch opposite to the one (Y/N) was sitting on, you can’t but help leering at her; mulling over every risk and danger that Frigga had made him go through with her to get (Y/N) away from her parents and planet, for (Y/N) to now join the elders anyway.

You catch random parts of the conversation about a Midgardian game, which you decide to play; you join in half-heartedly not caring much for the dares the rest of the team give you to do, nor are you feeling mischievous enough to fully appreciate what you could dare your teammates to do.

The only thought on your mind is how you were going to get any sort of information to answer your question without alerting the rest of the team to the truth of how you really knew (Y/N). You watch with amusement for a moment when Nat gets (Y/N) to admit to being Tony’s female driver, stupid humans can never see past the illusions that are right in front of them.

Finally, the last two people to pair off for ‘Truth or Dare’ is you and (Y/N) and you seize the opportunity to ask (Y/N) first, straightening your posture you keep eye contact with (Y/N).

“Truth or dare (Y/N)?” you ask with a serious face.

“Truth, Loki.” (Y/N) responds in a calm tone.

You notice (Y/N) almost whines slightly, though no one else catches it. Something is definitely off and the scent coming from her is so overpowering that you start to get flashbacks of the elders torturing you while you were captured. You quick brush aside those memories and press forward to ask your question.

“Do you remember anything from your early childhood?” you ask with suspicious eyes, narrowing your eyes, as you look for any giveaway that (Y/N) might lie to you.

The scent is becoming so strong you actually want to gag from your memories of torture, but you keep yourself composed waiting for (Y/N)’s answer. If (Y/N) chose to lie then you would have no option but to kidnap her, once she retreated to her apartment to interrogate her; you would not be a victim to the elders cruelty again a second time.

You see a shift in (Y/N)’s domineer that has you concerned, but you pay attention as (Y/N) responds to your question.

“I’m so glad you asked that Loki. Tell me when you were planning on telling me that you kidnapped me from my home and left me on this planet alone?” (Y/n) snarls at you “You came into my bedroom and stole me from my bed when I was three years old.”

‘So she does remember that night.’ You think, watching (Y/N) shivering, it almost looks like she is losing control of herself; which never ever happens. You watch as the team tries to regain control of the situation, but it all falls apart as you watch (Y/N)’s eyes go completely pitch black as she lunges at you; causing the couch to overturn.

(Y/N) is sitting on your chest, legs on either side of your upper body, pinning you to the floor with her hands around your throat, choking the life out of you; you struggle not wanting to hurt her, you manage to pry her fingers loose, bucking your hips and using your leg to roll both of you over.

You’re now on top of (Y/N) and you move to get up, so you can get away from her, but that never happens as (Y/N) uses her legs to put you in a headlock.

You keep trying to get (Y/N) off of you but you’re losing; your control faltering be retaliate to an attack on you, but you feel (Y/N)’s grip loosen and you quickly shuffle to get out the headlock, turning around you see Clint, Sam, Nat, T’Challa trying to get (Y/N) under control, but the more that they try, the more (Y/N) fights to get to you; even hurting her fellow teammates in the process.

‘This isn’t (Y/N)... Not the (Y/N) I’ve interacted with and know.’ You think, you just come back to yourself in time to grab both of (Y/N)’s wrists with your own hands as she tries to attack you a third time, causing you both the fall to the floor again.

You see Nat getting a strong grip on (Y/N)’s blouse, and tries to pull (Y/N) off of you; which only results in (Y/N)’s blouse being ripped right off of her body; you notice a bandage on (Y/N)’s right arm and a thought crosses you mind to rip off the bandage.

Following your instincts you manage to get both of (Y/N)’s hands in one of your own, manoeuvring around (Y/N)’s wriggling form; you grab (Y/N)’s right arm and you hear an ear splitting scream from (Y/N), quick you grasp at the bandage and pull.

You feel your body get pulled and you are pinned against the wall by Thor, who looks like a confused puppy; though what gets your attention is that horrid overwhelming scent, which smells a million times worse to you.

The team is continuing with efforts to restrain (Y/N), but also to stop you from retaliating to (Y/N)’s attacks.

“Loki... Loki look at me, you need to get out of here now.” Thor says in an urgent voice, worry line riddled on his face.

You simply nod and make your way around the edges of the common room, keeping your eyes on the fight between (Y/N) and the other Avengers trying to stop her, as she forces her way towards you.

You take off sprinting towards the entrance of the common room, only to have your feet slip out from under you as Sam is thrown across the common room; you get yourself off the floor as quickly as you can, but it’s not quick enough as (Y/N) grabs you in a chokehold from behind and manages to wrap her legs around your waist.

There’s no way to get out of this move and you feel a sense of panic take over, as you try to get (Y/N) off of your back; but the move you fight the tighter her grip becomes, stopping the oxygen and blood from getting to your brain.

Trying one last ditch effort you turn around and slam your back into the wall effectively hitting (Y/N) into the wall, hoping that she would release you with the force you used. Unfortunately, it only makes her angrier and she squeezes her legs and arms tighter.

You’re slowly losing consciousness, when you hear a distorted version of (Y/N)’s voice whisper in your ear so no one else hears *“We’ve been wondering for centauries who had kidnapped our master’s daughter, now we know and soon the master will know too. You will dearly for all your territory Laufeyson.”*

You shiver as the full realisation hits you ‘They’ve infested (Y/N)’s body!’

Before you can do anything else you feel (Y/N)’s arms and legs loosen completely, as her body goes limp. You fall to your knees coughing uncontrollably, from all the head locks and chokeholds (Y/N); not (Y/N) the elders using (Y/N)’s body had you in.

Thor is by your side in a minute asking if you’re okay, but you’re not ready to talk just yet; simply waving a hand to indicate for Thor to give you a minute.

All hell is breaking loose in the common room with most of the team wanting answers as to what is going on and others wanting to know if (Y/N) is going to be okay. Once you finally catch your breath, you watch everyone; your own mind taking a back seat as you go over the whole scene that just occurred until you hear Bruce speaking.

“Guys we need to get her into the isolation tank now; Professor Xavier is on the way here right now.” Bruce says in a strand voice.

That gets your attention if Professor Xavier was on the way and knew about (Y/N)’s condition ‘How long had (Y/N) been trying to fight the elders since they infested your body?’ you wondered as everyone started shouting again, wanting answers to their questions.

“Look can we just get (Y/N) into the isolation tank and we can have a team meeting as soon as Professor Xavier gets here.” Tony states in an irritated tone.

Thor helps you up and you both walk out of the common room together, you grab Thor’s arm and pull him towards the elevator.

When the doors open you press the button to you shared floor, once you get Thor into your apartment; you lock the door and turn to look at him.

“Thor we need to talk.” You say in a serious tone, your facial expression conveying the severity of your concern.

“Of course brother, are you alright?” Thor says keeping eye contact.

“Do you remember when we were younger and you caught mother and I leaving the palace in the middle of the night?” you say looking at Thor with a look of reminiscing.

“Yes, our mother told me not to breathe a word to anyone including father or the frost giants would come for me.” Thor stated in a matter of fact tone.

“She never told where we went and what we did did she?” you ask out of curiosity.

“I only asked her once many years after it happened, and all she would say was that you both had stopped a great evil from rising up and destroying the realms.” Thor says like it was common knowledge.

“The truth of the matter is that, on that night you found us leaving we left Asgard to kidnap (Y/N) from her parents; if she had been left to be raised by her parents we would have a universal war on our hands right now.” You say finally happy that one other person besides you knows what you and Frigga did.

Thor looks at you somewhat confused and upset “You know you could have told me, brother.” He states in as calm a voice as he can manage.

“I should have, but after everything that happened; I didn’t know if I could share this burden with anyone else.” You say taking a deep breath and sighing “Mother asked me to bring (Y/N) to earth, to hide her from her parents and their followers; those who are the elders, the chituari and many others. They would have been searching for (Y/N) for over three centuries and now they have her.”

“What do you mean they have her?” Thor asks in confusion, his brows furrowed.

“I mean that they have infested her blood stream and have taken control of your body and are taking over her mind; soon there will be no saving her.” You say, with a defeated voice, shaking your head as you keep your eyes on the floor.

“Is there a way to save her brother?” Thor asks, trying to sound as hopeful as possible.

“There may be a way, but we would need to head back to Asgard; I remember reading something about the elders in one of the books in the library that may help us.” You say in a whisper, not wanting to give Thor false hope; because in truth you remember seeing the elders doing this before when you were captured and tortured and those people died within two days.

“Let us go and see the rest of the team, maybe we can get more information before we leave for Asgard.” Thor says, heading for the door of your apartment; with you following close behind.

You close your apartment door and head for the elevator, making your way down to the basement where the Hulk isolation tank is kept; your mind working through your memories of the torture you witnessed in captivity, the cruel and debauched things the elders would do to the people they infested with their blood ‘How is (Y/N) going to survive this?’ you think for a terrified moment ‘If they succeed in taking over your body and mind, she’ll be gone forever; she’ll be as good as dead.’

Thor nudges your shoulder as the doors of the elevator open to reveal the entire team and Professor Xavier and Ororo as well; their attention on the limp body in the isolation tank.

“Everything okay Thor, Loki?” Steve asks with a note of concern, the look on his face is one of absolute dread.

You take a look around the group and notice how everyone is trying to deal with this situation in their own individual way; they don’t look like a team; more like lost children, confused and upset over the events in the common room.

Trying to get everyone’s head in the right place, you speak up “Tony I believe you said that we would have a meeting as soon as Professor Xavier arrived at the compound.”

That gets everyone’s attention, Tony simply nods and heads towards a side door before speaking “I’d rather we were close in case (Y/N)’s condition changes.”

Opening the side door where there is a ceiling to floor one-sided mirror, everyone could keep an eye on (Y/N) while the matter is discussed.

Everyone takes a seat at the table, besides you; you choose to lean against the wall having a direst view of (y/N)’s limp form in the tank.

“Alright Stark, start talking; no bullshit just facts, tell us everything you and Bruce know about what’s going on with (Y/N).” Bucky says with a stern voice, he’s struggling to keep it together; it’s almost like one good push could send him right over the edge, for everyone to see the Winter Soldier in action.

Tony takes a deep breath and meets everyone’s gaze before he starts to explain everything he knows.


	50. Chapter 49

Tony’s POV

Once the elevator stopped at the basement level, you walk out with the rest of the team; you had asked to bring down a bed from the Medical Bay, so (Y/N) wasn’t left on the floor of the isolation tank.

You requested FRIDAY to ensure that the tank was open for you to walk in without having to access the control panel, just as you were considering asking FRIDAY where Steve and Bucky were; when you saw them stepping out of the elevator with a bed from the medical bay.

Steve and Bucky placed the bed in the middle of the isolation tank and stepped back, as you walked up to the bed and gently lay (Y/N) on the bed; you furrow your brow at her unsettled face.

Everyone finds a spot either by their self or with another teammate outside of the isolation tank; though you don’t have the heart talk to anyone; so you do the next best thing that you can think of.

“FRIDAY give me a full body scan and prepare blood work, if (Y/N) walks up distressed please ensure the Hulk sedative is put through the air vents into the isolation tank.” You say rubbing you forehead and sighing, at least this will give you something to work on in the meantime.

“Of course boss.” FRIDAY states in a neutral tone “Boss Professor Xavier has arrived with Ororo.”

“Thank you FRIDAY, please send them down.” You say and turn to the team.

It’s hard to see everyone in different states of worry, concern, anger, frustration and anxiety; anyone who walked into the room now would see human beings at their lowest point, not superheroes that have protected the world on countless occasions.

A few minutes pass and the elevator doors open to reveal Professor Xavier and Ororo, who promptly exit the elevator and walk over to Bruce, greeting him first.

Wrapped in your own thoughts, you don’t even hear anything that is being said around you; eventually, you’re brought back to the present by Loki, which you hadn’t even noticed had returned with Thor.

“Tony I believe you said that we would have a meeting as soon as Professor Xavier arrived at the compound.” Loki says getting your attention.

You nod at Loki and reply for everyone to hear “I’d rather we were close in case (Y/N)’s condition changes.” As you walk over to a side door, that has a ceiling to floor one-sided mirror for you to keep an eye on (Y/N).

Everyone files into the room including Professor Xavier and Ororo, everyone taking a seat in one of the chairs around the table, except for Bucky who remain standing; leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, looking directly at you. So you choose to stand just inside the door of the room and look at everyone around the room.

“Alright Stark, start talking; no bullshit just facts, tell us everything you and Bruce know about what’s going on with (Y/N).” Bucky says with a stern voice, he’s struggling to keep it together; it’s almost like one good push could send him right over the edge, for everyone to see the Winter Soldier in action.

You take a deep breath and meet everyone’s gaze before you start to explain everything you know.

“FRIDAY, please bring up all video footage of (Y/N) starting with the second day of time laps for the NASCAR competition.” You state in a firm voice.

“Of course boss.” FRIDAY states in a calm tone.

As the footage begins playing you start explaining everything you know from the beginning.

“So as everyone learned upstairs, (Y/N) is my driver for Formula 1 and NASCAR racing; the ‘mission’ she went on, was obviously a cover for her to be able to race for me.” You say taking a breath before carrying on, but before you could say anything else Steve gets out of his chair forcibly.

“What the hell is wrong with you Tony? (Y/N) got shot, she then had a blackout at Professor Xavier’s school and you still thought it was a good idea to send her off to race cars; just so you could win more money and fame for yourself.” Steve states in a seething rage.

You just stare at Steve, expecting further insults to be hurled at you; but before the argument can go any further Professor Xavier speaks “Captain Rogers I understand your level of frustration, but if we want to get all the facts; we need to listen to what Mr. Stark has to say before proper dialogue can happen.”

Steve simply nods and moves to mirror Bucky’s stance by the wall, before you carry on speaking.

“Basically Happy called me the night before the final race day; telling me that (Y/N) had been acting a little strange at the stadium and then asked for her secure bag. Naturally, I became suspicious, so I called her, but she wouldn’t let me know what was going on; so I took it upon myself to investigate.” You say, finally taking a seat on a chair nearest to the door where you can see (Y/N)’s limp form.

“FRIDAY show the footage from the second day of racing.” You tell the AI system.

Immediately the footage comes up, you allow the footage to play; but no one picks up what you had to search for.

“At first I couldn’t understand what had caused (Y/N)’s behavioural change, but all checking the footage a few times I found something out of the ordinary.” You said, using your hands the shift, zoom and focus the footage displayed on the hologram program to show the stadium steps “What I found was two cloaked figures that were completely out of place.”

As you looked around at everyone, you catch a quick glimpse of Loki’s face and he looks angry; but as soon as he sees you looking at him; his expression goes back to being neutral.

You continue explaining the series of events to the team “So I had FRIDAY access the satellites to keep an eye on (Y/N), after my call with her; since she left the hotel she was staying at to go for a ‘ride’; unfortunately she was confronted by these two cloaked figures.” you say, bringing up the clear images of the clearing in the forest, where (Y/N) had fought both figures.

Out of the corner of your eye, you see Loki visibly shudder and that gets you attention ‘What is up with psycho magician?’ you think to yourself.

FRIDAY then proceeds to play the whole fight in the forest clearing with visual and audio, you look around the room seeing everyone’s expressions; there are only a select few who manage to keep their expressions completely neutral while the video plays.

“What I was able to establish is that those two figures infested (Y/N) with their blood, she didn’t realise at first that they had infested her system. The problem became apparent when she lost concentration during the final race and got hit by an opposing racer; I had Happy monitoring what was going on with (Y/N), hoping that she would get back before anything worse happened.” You say, noting the disapproving looks from most of the team, especially Steve and Bucky.

Brushing off the feeling of guilt and remorse that was creeping into your chest, you pressed forward with more information.

“Nothing else happened besides (Y/N) changing the dressing of the wound three to four times before she got back to the compound. As far as she knew, nobody was aware of the situation and she planned on keeping it that way had the wound not gotten worse.”

You look over at (Y/N), still sedated by the sedative running through her system, shaking your head before you continue speaking.

“(Y/N) approached Bruce after breakfast the morning she got back to the compound; after the food fight I went down to the labs, as FRIDAY informed me that (Y/N) was letting Bruce take a look at the wound. So I confronted her and she told me what she knew; which turned out to be not much at all.”

You bring up the footage from the lab and you let everyone watch (Y/N) explain about the figures that had been coming to capture her for over a century, but you stop the footage; unable bring yourself to show the rest of the video whereby (Y/N) literally accepts the fact that she could die.

“FRIDAY please continue the video feed until (Y/N) leaves the lab.” Steve states with a stern voice.

Unfortunately, you can’t stop FRIDAY from playing the footage and everyone hears (Y/N)’s admission that she might not make it. Bruce and Nat are hugging each other for comfort, Vision is gently rubbing Wanda’s back as she tries to hold back her tears; Clint, Sam, T’Challa, Thor and Loki just watch the video feed with somber looks on their faces.

Bucky is literally trembling in anger, Steve tries to put his hand on Bucky’s shoulder to keep him grounded, but Bucky shrugs of Steve’s hand and walks out of the room. You watch in silence as he walks over to the isolation tank and sits in front on the glass door, looking at (Y/N)’s limp form on the bed.

Bruce slowly stands up and gives you a nod, taking over the meeting.

“Tony and I have been running tests here at the compound from the moment we both found out about (Y/N) situation, we also asked Helen Cho to help us as well; but we’ve got nothing concrete.

We’ve been working around the clock and managed to come up with a cocktail of different meds to see if we could stop the spread of infection and possibly kill the infection after more testing.” Bruce states in a manner befitting a doctor informing a family of the state of their loved one.

“The afternoon that (Y/N) got back, she had a blackout in her apartment, while I treated her in her bedroom; she gained consciousness for a moment and told me to get a hold of Professor Xavier, I didn’t understand the meaning behind it but I followed through on her request and Professor Xavier has been keeping an eye on (Y/N) mental state.” Bruce continues, taking his glasses off and rubbing them clean with his shirt.

Bruce places his glasses back on his face and looks up and carries on explaining “The day after (Y/N) blackout, she noticed a series of lines on her back; upon further investigating with FRIDAY helping us, we established that a tattoo was forming on her back; we have no idea where it originates from or what it means.”

You can’t help but speak up “As far as the scans showed, and the last round of the blood tests Bruce and I took; the infection seemed to have stopped spreading. Bruce and I were hopeful that we were on the right track to isolate the infection, even with the tattoo progressing on her back.”

“FRIDAY bring up images of the tattoo on (Y/N)’s back.” You state in a concerned tone.

FRIDAY brings up all scans from the beginning right up to the current scan that was just completed and you find yourself holding in a gasp; the scan that was just completed showed a nearly finished tattoo on (Y/N)’s back, but it wasn’t the fact that there was a tattoo on (Y/N)’s back, it was what the tattoo looked like.

“Bruce, how is this even possible?” Steve asks in an anxious tone.

“I think I had better explain this part.” Professor Xavier states in a calm voice; everyone turns their attention to the Professor.

\-------------------------------

 

Professor Xavier’s POV

“When I first encountered (Y/N), she was alone; I and a few of my friends had been trying to protect some young mutants from harm. She came creeping in through the shades, at first, we thought she was an enemy, but I managed to read her mind and told my friends to back off.” You say with such adoration and love for (Y/N); when, though (Y/N) was older than you, she still felt like a daughter to you.

“(Y/N) used no weapons against her opponents, but the terrifying part was that she simply turned them all to ash by simply touching them. I was amazed by her talent and gift after she had killed all of our enemies; she walked over to me and stated that I should refrain from reading her mind.” shaking your head at the memory which still seems so vivid, a fond smile spread across your face.

“I asked her if she would care to join us, to which she agreed; I gave her a home and in return, she shared her story with me, I asked her once about her gift and all she could explain was that when the tattoo first manifested that she could kill people with a touch.” You continued with a sigh, it was heartbreaking to see someone who struggled to remember or explain her gifts or her real parents for that matter.

“When her gift first manifested itself she didn’t know how to control it, she didn’t know what to do; the family that had taken her in tried to help but it resulted in all of them being turned to ash.” You looked around the room, managing to tap into the thoughts of (Y/N)’s teammates, as they tried to grasp what you were saying, even Ororo was having a difficult time understanding; because (Y/N) had chosen not to let anyone know her full history.

“(Y/N) has never fully forgiven herself for that.” you say after a few moments “So she chose to stay out in the wild and learn how to control her gift; eventually she managed to get it under control and she allowed herself to interact with people again.”

“Professor, what was (Y/N)’s age when she was first able to use her powers?” Bruce asks in curiosity.

“I believe she was around 17 years old at the time.” you say in a matter of fact tone, ‘How strange has she not even told them how old she is?’ you wonder “Has she not told you her true age?”

“All we know is that she is older than both our super soldier old men.” Tony says with a smile “Not that I’ll complain, because (Y/N) looks totally gorgeous for her age.”

You can’t help but laugh at Tony’s comment “I don’t think she’ll mind at this point in time if I tell you.” You take a moment to look at Ororo before you continue “(Y/N) is three hundred and twenty-nine years old.”

The whole team looks at you in shock, some even gasping at the news; you focus your mind so as not to be overwhelmed by all the thoughts racing through everyone’s head.

“Holy shit!” Tony says a look of total disbelief and astonishment on his face.

“But back to the information I know, a couple of years into (Y/N) moving into the school; there was a mission whereby she accidently lost control of herself and killed a group of people; bad and good alike. After the incident she refused to eat, drink or even sleep, I tried to calm her mind but I could not get her to even talk about the incident.” You state rubbing your forehead with your hand, as you huff out a deep breath.

To this day it is still hard to remember (Y/N) at her lowest, you could feel the hatred and self-loathing for herself; she just couldn’t get past the fact that she had made a mistake.

“Eventually one day, (Y/N) came up to me and spoke to me; she said that she would talk about everything and try to keep herself healthy and well rested in exchange for my help.” You looked up at the team and then to Ororo with a grim look.

“What did she ask for?” Wanda asked in a whisper.

“She asked me to lock away her powers.” You state with a somber look on your face “I tried to change her mind, but she wouldn’t have it and I could not let her isolate herself from the world again as she had done when she was seventeen; so reluctantly I granted her request.”

Everyone took a couple of minutes to process the information; you picked up on Bucky’s thoughts, of how he felt for (Y/N) and how he was feeling about everything that was happening to her; on one hand your were happy that (Y/N) might be able to love another person, but on the other hand you had no idea if (Y/N) had a future at this point in time.

“(Y/N) has learned so many fighting styles that even without her gift; she is a challenging opponent, I let her stay at the school and gave her the chance to teach my students how to defend themselves and to attack if it was ever necessary.” the Professor says in a kind voice.

Suddenly you hear Bucky shouting from outside the isolation tank “(Y/N)!!!” and you turn around in your wheelchair; her body is thrashing around, but she’s not conscious.

“FRIDAY release another sedative into the tank.” Tony says in a firm voice, as you wheel yourself out of the room last.

You focus your mind and try to connect with (Y/N)’s mind, but you are meet with resistance, (Y/N)’s was still fighting even in her unconscious state; but the two cloaked figures from the video feeds.

***

As you enter her mind you see two cloaked figures standing in the middle.

[What do you want with (Y/N)?] You ask them.

Both figures turn to you and smile [We simply wish to take (Y/N) home, where she belongs.] the first figure says.

[But she does not wish to leave, why are you hurting her?] You ask them, as you try to create a telepathic cage, to contain their power to give (Y/N) some peace.

[She has chosen this path by not coming with us willingly; so we will make her come with us by force. Whether her mind is still intact or not, it makes no difference, her parents will have what they want.] The second figure states with a malicious smile.

Suddenly both figures are trapped within a telepathic cell that you have created; which should hold them.

[You really think this prison will hold us?] The first figure says with a laugh.

[Well I will continue to protect (Y/N) in any way I can.] You state and seal the cell so not a sound can be heard from the figures inside.

***

Everyone stands around the tank and watches as (Y/N)’s body slumps back onto the bed; you look at Tony who sighs, looking at you and you can read Tony’s thoughts of worry and fear for (Y/N).

“Let’s finish up this meeting.” Tony says in a defeated tone.

Everyone makes their way back into the room, you catch a glimpse of Captain Rogers walking over to James Barnes, as he places his hand on Bucky’s shoulder; gently guiding Bucky into the room. You wheel yourself back into the room and wait for Tony to finally walk in.

You simply nod at Tony and speak to everyone “(Y/N) is okay, I have managed to calm her mind while Tony had the sedative released.”

“Getting back to the present and why I am here, is to explain what I have found. (Y/N) usually, has a high tolerance toward my mind reading; but as the infection has been working through her body, I have been able to read her mind more openly.” you explain in a calm and gentle tone.

The team looks worried and anxious at this news; you can see through their eyes the fight that happened between (Y/N) and Loki, upstairs in their common room area.

“Basically, the two figures that Tony showed you; are festering inside (Y/N)’s body; the more disturbing part for me is that they don’t just want to take over her body, but her mind as well.” You state in a grave voice.

“(Y/N) has been fighting them off since their initial fight; unfortunately she is getting weaker the more those beings stay inside of her. They want to take her home to her parents, whether she’s willing or not.” Your face grim after having explained everything you knew.

Everyone sits in total silence, nobody really registering anyone else in the room. Your mind more focused on feeling (Y/N)’s presence that still lingers somewhere in her mind, trying to take back control of your mind and body from the figures.

“Why haven’t they been able to take over her mind completely as yet?”

You turn your attention to the source of the voice, interesting enough it’s Loki who asked the question.

“(Y/N) has always had a high tolerance and resistance to anyone trying to pry into her mind; and after I put up barriers to block her powers from surfacing, it became more difficult. But these beings are circling around her mind looking for little cracks to wedge themselves in; they will know everything about her and anyone she has ever encountered in her life.” you state in a concerned tone.

\----------------------------

Tony’s POV

You watch as Loki nods at Professor Xavier and remains silent for a while; you feel your mind wandering back to the fight scene in the common room and (Y/N)’s last words play in your head.

“I have a question, but correct me if I’m wrong.” You state in you annoying, arrogate tone.

Everyone’s eyestrain on you, as you gaze at Loki.

“(Y/N) mentioned something about you kidnapping her from her home, her bedroom in fact. Now clearly you know more than what you are pretending to know; so out with it.” You say, anger flaring up in your chest; knowing that (Y/N) could possibly be in this situation because of Loki.

The whole team looks between you to Loki, and the realisation hits as they replay the whole scene in their heads. After a couple of minutes, everyone remains silent and Loki looks nowhere near ready to speak.

“Loki you’re either going to tell us everything or I’m going to beat it out of you and believe me when I say you’ll be lucky if the whole team doesn’t back me up on this,” you say with a serious look on your face, you catch a glimpse of Thor nudging Loki.

“Brother maybe is it time for you to explain what exactly you and mother did.” Thor states in a calm tone.

Loki looks at his hands and takes a deep breath before he chances a look at the team.

“Over three centuries ago, Thor’s and my mother got word of a horror that had come into the universe.” Loki states, looking to Thor before continuing “I thought we were dealing with some creature that we could just kill and go on with our lives.”

Loki leans into his chair further and looks through the sided-mirror, gazing at (Y/N)’s limp form in the tank.

“However, Frigga never told me it was, in fact, a baby; (Y/N) to be exact. When (Y/N) was around three years old, my mother and I had executed a plan to take (Y/N) away from her parents; the fact that both her parents are totally twisted beings was the main reasoning.” Loki explains before shaking his head, he looks like he’s having an internal battle with himself.

“Brother… Who are (Y/N)’s, parents?” Thor asks in a gentle tone.

Loki remains quiet, intertwining his fingers together; squeezing his hands tightly.

“Death and Thanos are (Y/N)’s, parents…” Loki states and goes quiet again.

Thor looks at Loki in total shock, like he’s seeing Loki for the first time in his life.

“You mean to tell me that after father asked you about the shift in the realms you and mother lied to him?” Thor asks in confusion, brows furrowed.

“Hold up, how can (Y/N) be the child of a person called Thanos and Death?” you ask in a frustrated tone.

“The only way I’ll carry on is everyone keeps quiet so I can explain what I know.” Loki states in a stern voice, eyes cold and calculating.

Everyone remains silent; Thor looks at Loki and nods for him to continue.

“After (Y/N) had been put to bed, my mother and I managed to create a portal from the shadows and took (Y/N) from her bed. My mother had been planning for two years where we could leave (Y/N) where Thanos and Death couldn’t find her; so Earth was the planet chosen for (Y/N) to live.” Loki says in a calm tone.

“She woke up while I was walking towards a farmhouse, to leave her on the doorstep; remembering that she was supposed to be in her bed, so I put a spell on her to fall asleep. I left her on the doorstep and knocked on the door and left.” Loki further explains.

“From time to time my mother and I would check on her, which doesn’t really mean much when you look at how Midgardians view time compared to Asgardians.” Loki says rubbing his hand against his forehead.

“I never connected the dots; that the elders would look for her.” Loki looks around the room and finds everyone looking a little confused.

You watch Loki closely, as he takes a deep breath like he’s trying to keep himself grounded.

“When I fell from the Bifrost… I was eventually captured… Eventually, I accepted their deal and they let me lead the attack on New York.” Loki was fidgeting with his hands.

“The fight that was shown, of (Y/N) fighting them… The act of stabbing a person with their blood on the knife… I’ve seen them do that to other beings before, while I was captured.” Loki almost whispers now, he looks like he needs to escape from the room.

“Wait… You’ve seen this before?” Bruce asks in surprise “Are those people okay?”

Loki looks down at the floor and shakes his head, which could only mean one thing.

“Not a single person survived, all of them died a few hours after the infection. I know a came across a book that spoke of the elders, maybe there is a way to save (Y/N); I don’t know for certain if I can save her, but I would like the chance to help save her.” Loki states in an encouraging voice.

Before you can ask any more questions, FRIDAY’s voice announces that (Y/N) is waking up; everyone quickly files out of the room and heads straight for the tank.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The inspiration for the reader's tattoo comes from a movie a saw a couple of years ago called 'The Salton Sea'.


	51. Chapter 50

Your head was throbbing quite badly, as you woke from your unconscious state; letting out a low groan as you shift your body; you could feel your muscles protesting the movement. ‘What the hell happened?’ you thought, taking a few moments to refocus your thought pattern; then suddenly everything came rushing back.

Playing ‘Truth or Dare’ with the team, Loki’s question and your body acting on its own; while you were trapped in your own mind unable to stop your body from attacking Loki. You jolt yourself into a seated position and notice you’re on a bed.

Slowly looking up, you realise you’re in the Hulk isolation tank; your eyes scanning around and you see the whole team looking extremely worried and anxiously at you; then you hear it.

‘I’m here (Y/N); I came as soon as I could.’ The Professor’s voice sounds in your head.

‘What happened to the two figures that are plaguing me?’ you think.

‘For now, they are contained, but your family is worried about you.’ The Professor states in a gentle and calming voice.

You rub your head, shifting your legs to the edge of the bed to get off of the bed; but you stop when you hear Steve.

“(Y/N) please don’t get up, you’re still coming out of the sedation that Tony gave you.” You look up at Steve and see that his face looks sad, it’s almost like someone’s died.

You stay seated on the bed with your legs dangling over the side of the bed.

‘Professor, what happened after I lost control of my body and mind?’ you thought, hoping the Professor would give you answers before you spoke.

‘The long or short version (Y/N)?’ The Professor answers in a kind tone, though one look at him and you know he has a small smile on his face.

‘Maybe the quick version would be best for now.’ You answer the Professor.

‘Basically, everyone found out about your fight in the forest, the infection you’re fighting off in your body and the fact that the figures are trying to instinctually kill anyone if they have to, to take you home to your parents. Loki informed us of who your family is and how you came to be on Earth, he’s hoping to find a cure for your situation.” The Professor states in a gentle tone, you can feel him trying to calm your thoughts with his telepathy; which for the first time in a long time you welcome openly.

“Loki?” you say in a whisper.

Loki looks at you, not with hatred or anger; but with a sense of understanding and calm.

“Yes (Y/N)?” Loki replies with a neutral expression on his face.

“I... I want to apologise for attacking you in the common room.” You say looking at the floor intently “If I’d just been open with everyone about what happened to me on my mission, we might not have been in this situation.”

“It would have happened eventually (Y/N).” Loki states in a neutral voice “You’re infected with the elders’ blood and they’ve had it in for me, ever since the failed attack on New York.”

You look up at Loki, shock, and surprise riddled on your face; Loki notices and continues to speak.

“By all rights and accounts, you should be dead already.” This comment from Loki earns him glaring looks from the whole team “What I mean to say, is that I have seen what the elder's blood in another being can do; I don’t understand how you have managed to survive this long.”

“Who are the elders? How are they related to my parents?” you say hoping you will at least get some answers.

Loki doesn’t bother to look at the others when he responds to your questions, as the team glares at him “The elders are followers of your parents, mainly your father actually. They have been searching for you since my mother and I kidnapped you.”

“Okay, but I don’t understand why they’re so adamant to take me back to my parents?” you ask, hoping Loki could give you more information.

“As best I can assume with confidence that they, want to take you back to your parents; so your mother can have your body.” He says looking away from everyone.

“What do you mean, 'have my body'?” you look at Loki, in shock and panic.

After a few minutes, Loki looks at you before he speaks “(Y/N) your mother is Death... The reason you were born was, so she could have a physical form to inhabit. That is why my mother and I kidnapped you when you were younger, we didn’t want anything to happen to the nine realms.”

Your face expresses all of your emotions, you look around trying to find something to ground yourself; but nothing helps, so you look at the floor; as all you can think about is what the elders had said before ‘So I am going to die anyway, whether my body is still alive means nothing if they kill my mind.’ You ponder.

‘You won’t be alone (Y/N), no one here will let that happen to you.’ You look at the Professor and give a quick nod.

“Hey (Y/N), I’m gonna get you a shirt; because I can’t stand seeing Capiscle go any redder at your half naked body.” Tony states with a smirk.

You can’t help but smile at Tony, he always tries you get your spirits up.

“Ah, Tony and here I thought you were enjoying the view of my half-naked body.” You chime in, making him chuckle.

“Sweet cakes trust me I totally love seeing you in any form of undress, but it does get cold in there.” Tony says, keeping his smile as he makes his way to a small compartment in the wall and pulls out a long sleeve black shirt and a blanket.

You remain seated on the bed, as Tony unlocks the door to the isolation tank; walks up to you and places the shirt and blanket on your bed. Tony is careful in his movements like he’s trying to not to spook you but also in case you lose control.

“Thank you, Tony.” You whisper as he looks at you, before leaving.

Tony stops in his tracks and meets your gaze, moves slowly towards you and gives you a hug; you feel your chest go tight and you wrap your arms around his neck, almost clinging to him.

Whispering in his ear “Tony I don’t wanna die...” you try to hold in a sob.

He squeezes you closer to him and replies “I won’t let that happen (Y/N), I need to around sweet cakes.”

Slowly you disentangle yourself from Tony, he turns around and walks out of the tank; not stopping to speak to anyone and rushes out of the room. You chance a glance at everyone in the room, the atmosphere seems to be one of a somber nature; it was seeping through the room like a plague.

“Sorry for messing up the party guys.” You say nonchalant, hoping to distract everyone from the real reason everyone was here “I just had to know what the appeal was since Tony messed up every other party before.” You say giving everyone a smile.

Everyone seems to smile, others gave a little chuckle, some even snorted, but the tension never left the room.

So you decide to get up from the bed and turn around to put on the shirt Tony left you, what you don’t expect is a bunch of gasps as you lift the shirt to pull over your head; turning around to see what caused the team's response.

“What happened guys?” you asked with a perplexed expression on your face.

“(Y/N) the tattoo on your back...” Wanda says in a strained voice.

“FRIDAY please bring up an image of my back please.” You ask the AI system.

“Of course Miss (Y/N).” FRIDAY responds.

A holographic image comes up displaying your back and you find yourself, placing your hand over your mouth; fear gripping you.

‘Professor, what does this mean?’ you think, waiting for the Professor to answer you.

‘(Y/N), do you remember your powers?’ you hear the Professors voice, you simply nod.

‘This is the physical representation of your powers... It seems the elders have broken the barrier you asked me to put on you, to bind your gift.’ He replies ‘(Y/N) you will be okay, you just need to believe; don’t give up, everyone here has your back even your Xmen family as well.’

You finish pulling the shirt down to cover your upper body and move to sit on the floor next to the bed.

“(Y/N)...” you look up to look at Bucky.

“Yes, Barnes.” You say, trying to keep your expression neutral as possible.

“Do you need anything?” Bucky asks in a gentle tone, his eyes showing way too many emotions that reflected how you’re feeling.

“No, I’m good. I just want to be left alone right now please.” You say, lowering your head and looking at the floor.

“Shutting out people isn’t a good idea right now (Y/N).” Nat states in a calm voice.

Before you can reply Thor speaks up “(Y/N), Loki and I shall do our best to find a cure for you; we will take our leave now and head to Asgard to find the answers we need.”

You barely meet Thor’s eyes and nod.

“(Y/N)?” you gaze at Loki “I promise I will do everything in my power to save you. Just don’t give up fighting to save yourself.”

“I’ll... I’ll do my best Loki...” you say, holding back a sob trying to school your facial expression; knowing that you that a battle ahead fighting the elders.

Thor and Loki give you a slight nod and leave the room briskly. You go silent and look at the floor, going over things in your mind, not paying any attention to everyone that is left standing outside the tank looking at you with concern.

“(Y/N), we’ll give you some time to yourself.” You make eye contact with the Professor and nod.

Everyone slowly turns around and files out of the room, leaving you and the Professor alone.

‘Thanks, Professor, I’m sure they put up a fight when you spoke to them telepathically.’ You think with a small smile.

‘Of course, they did, your team is concerned and worried about you; just don’t shut them out.’ The Professor replies in your mind.

‘I’ll do my best, this is just a lot to take in right now...’ you ponder.

‘If you need me, just call to me and I’ll come; I believe Mr. Stark is putting me and Ororo up for a couple of days.’ The Professor states with a sigh, in your mind.

You can’t help the laugh that escapes your lips, as the Professor gives you one last smile before leaving the room; now you’re truly alone with your thoughts and feelings.

\-------

A few hours pass by, with you staying seated on the floor staring into space; trying to work through all your thoughts. But all you find yourself doing is trying to think of ways to ensure that the elders’ don’t even get a chance to leave this isolation tank with your body, should they succeed in destroying your mind.

You’re so wrapped up in your mind, that you don’t notice that two people have entered the room.

“Hey (Y/N).” you hear Steve’s voice, as you’re pulled from your thoughts.

“We thought you could use some breakfast.” Bucky chimes in with a gentle smile.

“Oh, hey Steve, Barnes; you both didn’t need to do that for me.” You say in a whisper.

“It was nothing, really… We don’t mind cooking for you (Y/N).” Steve says a slight blush overtaking his cheeks.

“Yeah, we would cook for you every minute of every day, if it means we get to spend some time with you.” Bucky says with his charming smile, but his eyes told another story of worry and concern.

“Barnes, Steve I really am grateful for the gesture.” You say with a smile, but your thoughts are interrupted when you hear an echoed voice inside your head

[Oh, now this is a new development; these two mortals love her… It seems he have a very good hand to play.]

You feel so panicked, that you look at Steve and Bucky and quickly state “Look Steve just leave the tray just inside the door of the tank and leave with Barnes please.” You turn away from them both and look at the floor.

“(Y/N) are you okay?” Steve asks in alarm.

“God damn it, are you deaf Stars and Stripes; leave the fucking tray by the entry door of the tank and get the fuck out of here with Frosty.” You shout, without even turning around.

You hear the door to the tank slide open and the sound of the tray on the floor of the tank, before the door closes again; you feel your heart ache for having spoken to both of them like that, but if the elders were going to try and hurt them, you would rather push them so far away from you that they wanted nothing to do with you.

After a couple of minutes of solitude and silence, you turn around and make your way across the tank to grab the tray of food that Bucky and Steve had made for you; walking back to the bed you sit on top of the bed with the tray placed in front of you.

The breakfast smells and looks amazing, Steve and Bucky really made an effort to lift your spirits; as you piece up the cutlery to start eating, a small note slips out of the napkin. You unfold the paper and see a message from Steve and Bucky.

*** Hey (Y/N), I’m sure you must be feeling really upset over everything that’s happened. I just wanted you to know that care about you and that we’re with you always; we won’t let anything bad happen to you. Steve Rogers***

Turning the small note over, you see another message on the reverse side.

*** Hi (Y/N), it’s been a while since I’ve written a woman a note or a letter.  
Look I’m not that good with words like I used to be, I just want to say I really care about you; even if you don’t feel the same way, it’s okay; I’ll be whatever you need me to be even if it’s just a friend.  
Just do me one favour, keep fighting; Tony, Bruce, Helen, Thor, and Loki are trying to find a way to save you and the rest of us are here if you want or need to talk. James Buchanan ‘Bucky’ Barnes ***

You sigh, feeling like a total douchebag for the way you treated Steve and Bucky; but what choice did you have the elders’ would kill everyone you cared about if it meant being able to get your body back to Death.

Placing the note aside, you dig into your breakfast; you can’t help moan at the taste of the food and the amazing hot chocolate that Bucky makes. You polish off the remainder of your breakfast and hot chocolate, before getting up and placing the try in the same place, where Steve had left it.

Returning to your place on the floor, you reach out to the Professor with your mind; you really needed to speak with him, about everything ‘I hope he’s not busy or asleep’ you think to yourself.


	52. Chapter 51

‘No (Y/N), I’m not busy or sleeping. Are you alright?’ the Professor answers you in your mind.

‘I’m just worried... It almost feels like the elders are able to watch and hear the interactions I have with people....’ You think, your hand rubbing over your forehead ‘They said they would use any means necessary to take my body back to my parents, that included everyone I cared about.’

‘Let me come down and see you, we can discuss this in greater detail. I believe that they are breaking down all the barriers that you asked me to put in place, but also the one I placed to seal them up late last night.’ Professor Xavier answers you.

‘Professor, when you make your way down here... If you see Steve and Bucky... Please tell them...’ you don’t get to finish your thought.

‘That you’re sorry for what you said, you didn’t mean it.’ The Professor finishes of your sentence for you.

‘It never gets old, whenever you do that Professor.’ You think as you shake your head.

‘I’ll see you in a few minutes (Y/N).’ Professor Xavier says with a chuckle before you’re left alone mentally.

You sit on the floor, leaning against the glass of the tank, knees pull up to your chest, with your arms encircled around your legs; your head resting on the glass as your mind wonders over all of you memories that the elders’ have unleashed, by breaking the most of the mental barrier’s Charles had placed on you over the years.

Your memories were coming back in pieces; the happy, sad and devastating details of your life; you could feel yourself falling apart inside, as anger, shame and sorrow took over your mind. You close your eyes, taking deep calming breaths; hoping that the Professor could figure something out to keep the elders’ contained until Loki and Thor got back with a cure, as you were beginning to doubt your ability to hold them off.

You’re not sure how much time had gone by before you heard footsteps approaching, you chose not to open your eyes at first; just taking to focus your mind, hopefully, the elders’ wouldn’t make a vocal appearance or try to take over your body again.

“Hey (Y/N).” You hear Steve say in a kind and gentle tone.

‘How can he still come back, after the way I treated him?’ you think; looking up you see Steve, Bucky and the Professor in the room outside of the tank.

“Hi Steve...” you state and see Bucky standing slightly away from Steve “Hi James...” you say as you make eye contact with Bucky.

The look on Bucky’s face is priceless; eyes wide and mouth hanging open in shock, all because you called him ‘James’; you give him a little smile.

“I owe you both an apology for my behaviour earlier... The elders’...” you start explaining to both men, but you’re interrupted by Bucky.

“(Y/N), the Professor explained what happened; Steve and I totally get it and we don’t blame you.” Bucky says with a sweet and adorable smile on his face.

“That still didn’t give me the right to speak to you guys like that.” You say with a sigh “I just don’t want the elders to have the upper hand on me, and it’s becoming more and more difficult as time goes by.”

“Are you having a harder time, keeping them controlled?” Steve asks in a concerned tone.

You don’t answer, choosing to look away at that moment keeping your eyes on the ground just on the other side of the glass; Bucky slowly walks up to the glass and sits right in front of you and waits for you to meet his gaze.

You sigh and look at Bucky “It’s becoming more difficult by the day, but for now I’m still in control; it’s just unnerving to have two evil beings inside me looking for anything to use against me to win.” You say in a defeated voice.

Steve walks over to Bucky and sits down next to him, keeping eye contact with you “(Y/N), you’re doing so well; even Loki found it hard to believe how you’re still alive and in control. We’re here with you, you’re the strongest person we know and we’ll help you win in any way we can.” Steve states in his Captain America voice, causing you to smile at him.

“You two seem to give me more credit than I truly deserve...” you say with a sad look on your face.

“(Y/N), I think maybe we should be spending a little more time, figuring out what the elders have already done with your memories and how much control they have.” The Professor says with a kind smile.

You look at the Professor and return his smile “Of course, how do you want me?” you ask with curiosity.

“I need you to lie down, maybe on the bed would be best for you.” The Professor states in a matter of fact tone.

“I’m fine on the floor Professor; I’ll be close enough for you to see; if there are any physical responses in my body, while you’re probing into my mind.” You say, stretching your arms above your head as you straighten your legs in front of you.

“If you’re happy with that (Y/N), then we’ll get started.” The Professor says with a sympathetic look on his face.

You lie down on the floor of the tank on your back; palms face down next to your sides, you look up at the ceiling of the tank; hoping that the Professor could do something about containing the elders.

“(Y/N)?” Steve calls your name to get your attention when you turn your head to meet his gaze; he continues to speak “Are you okay with me and Bucky being here?”

You ponder Steve’s question over for a moment before you respond “It should be okay, just follow the Professor’s instructions.”

Both Bucky and Steve give you a nod remaining silent. You look back at the ceiling and close your eyes, clearing your mind to make it easier for the Professor to work through your mind.

“(Y/N) I’m going to start now, I’m going to try and different approach to see if it keeps them fully restrained this time, okay?” Professor Xavier says with a small smile.

You nod, still facing the ceiling with your eyes closed ‘Please let this work.’ You think to yourself, just as you feel the Professor’s presence enter your mind.

Your body feels like it’s floating, as Professor Xavier works through the different barriers he’s laying on your mind; your limbs feeling almost numb as you try to relax.

At some point you see the elders manifest in your mind, while the Professor is working on the barriers to protect you from them; and a mental battle ensues with them, you ask the Professor to stay back and trap them as soon as he has an opening.

The battle doesn’t last long, as your memories revealed how they had trained you to fight; so you managed to counter their moves and the Professor placed his trap when the elders were at their weakest.

Eventually, your eyelids flutter open and you groan, your body feeling sore and heavy; like you took a beating.

“(Y/N)?!” you hear Bucky’s voice, turning your head to the source of his voice; you see Bucky looking at you with a shocked look on his face.

“(Y/N) is that what you go through every time the elders try to take over your body and mind?” Steve asks in a sombre tone.

“How… How did you see…?” you ask taking deep breaths, as you slowly sit up on the floor of the tank.

“I let them see what I was doing to help you (Y/N), I didn’t let them into your mind; they simply saw everything through my mind.” Professor Xavier explains in a kind tone “They were extremely worried, it seemed like the only way to palsied Captain Rogers and Sergeant Barnes.”

You look at all three men before you get up off the floor and walk over to the bed.

“Yes, Steve… That’s pretty much what I go through every time they try to take more control of my body and mind.” You say heaving a sigh as you sit on the bed, looking at the floor; rubbing your head with your hand.

“(Y/N) are you okay?” Bucky asks in a gentle tone.

“I’m… I think…” you struggle to find the right words, especially with your fear of not winning against the elders; taking a deep breath you respond “I’ll be fine… I just need to get some rest.”

“We can bring you some food a bit later if you want (Y/N)?” Steve says with a smile.

You look over at the Professor, Steve, and Bucky.

“That sounds good. I’ll see you guys later then.” You say and lie down on the bed, back towards them as they leave.

You wait a couple of minutes after their footsteps and voices have completely faded; before you curl in on yourself and sob into your pillow.

It’s not often that you allowed yourself to cry and feel like this, not with all the lives you have taken in over three hundred years; but you just felt so tired and you wanted this to end no matter the outcome.

You would rather die than let the elders’ kill the Avengers and the Xmen; just to give Death and Thanos what they wanted, even if it meant killing yourself to save everyone from them.

Slowly you feel your mind drift into unconsciousness, you feel so exhausted from the constant fights for control with the elders that you easily let go and fall asleep; knowing that the Professor had added extra barriers to help you.

\---

You wake up a couple of hours later, feeling a bit strange; but you don’t get time to think about it as Nat and Wanda walk into the room.

Sitting up in bed, you meet their gazes and each gives you a big smile.

“What brings you both down to my prison?” you say with a touch of humour in your voice, but it seems to fall short as Wanda and Nat look at you with a somber look on their faces.

“Hey what’s wrong?” you say in a concerned tone “I was just kidding with both of you.”

“We just came to spend time with you; it’s hard to see you on that side of the tank…” Wanda pipes up in a gentle voice “How are you holding up? Anything you need or want?”

You give them both a smile “Yeah, I could use a stiff drink right about now.” You say with a smirk on your face.

“We thought you might say that, so we compromised.” Nat says with a laugh, lifting her hands to show you a bottle of Vodka and plastic cups.

“Ah, you guys are the best ever. I don’t know what I’d do without you both.” You state, laughing with Nat as Wanda joins in.

“Well, what are friends for. And we have a guest coming as well.” Wanda pipes up, as she sits on the floor outside the tank.

You realise that while you were talking with Nat and Wanda, that Nat had already opened the bottle of Vodka and poured a cup for you and unlocked the door, to lay it on the floor just inside the tank with the Vodka bottle next to the cup; before walking back out.

‘I would have done the same if I were in their position.’ You think before you shake your head.

“Don’t tell me you guys got me a stripper gram...” you state with a laugh, rolling your eyes.

“Well under normal circumstance we would have, but no... No strippergram for you.” Nat states with a shit-eaten grin on her face, while Wanda begins to blush.

Just then you hear footsteps, coming from the corridor; moving your attention from the girls to the entrance of the room. ‘Who the hell did they invite?’ you ponder, as the footsteps get closer.

You can’t help the smile that spreads across your face when you see Ororo walk into the room with another bottle of Vodka.

“Hey, there stranger?” Ororo says with a smile “You’re definitely not looking your best.”

“Yeah, well seems I went ape shit on my teammates; so yeah...” you state in a joking manner “I have to be in a time out, so I can learn to behave.”

Ororo still smiles at you “How are you feeling, though?”

You get up from the bed; Nat and Wanda are both sitting on the floor near the tank watching you. Making your way over to the cup of Vodka, you grab the cup and bottle and walk over to where the girls are sitting and take a seat as Ororo does the same between Wanda and Nat.

Ororo opens the bottle she brought with and pours a drink for Nat, Wanda and herself; they take small sips from their cups, while you run your fingers over the top of your cup.

“What can I say... My body and mind is being taken over by two crazy beings who are hell bent on taking me back to my ‘parents’; whether I want to go or not. So I pretty much feel like I’m losing my myself.” You state in a defeated tone, before you down the contents of the cup and grimace slightly as the Vodka burns your throat.

“But moving on to better and happier things, what’s been going on with you three?” you say, hoping they’ll take the hint for a change of subject.

Wanda, Nat, and Ororo catch on pretty quickly.

“Well, Vision has decided he wants to try going out on a date with me.” Wanda pipes up, sipping your drink.

“Aren’t you both already dating each other?” you asked in confusion.

“Yes we are, but we haven’t ever left the compound to go and watch a movie together or even to go to a restaurant.” Wanda says with a smile.

“It’s about time too... Any longer and I was planning on taking you on a date myself.” Nat chimes in with a laugh.

You smile at Wanda while pouring yourself another drink ‘Thank god Nat left the bottle with me.’ You think as you take a sip from the cup this time.

“Nat you know that Vision is shy, I’m not going to force him to be someone else because he does things differently.” Wanda chastises, taking another sip of her drink.

“Well he seems to be quick fond of you Wanda; he looks like a gentle soul.” Ororo says giving Wanda a smile.

“I know what it’s like to be patient; I’m dating Bruce Banner; so patience is a must.” Nat says with a smile.

“Now Nat, I’m sure you’ll agree with me, that your statement isn’t completely true.” You say with a smirk “I remember one time that Bruce had just had an episode with the Hulk and you were literally trying to jump on top of him.”

All of you burst out laughing; you shake your head when you think back to that memory.

“Hey that’s not fair; you had just patched me up from a mission and gave me an extra dose of pain meds.” Nat says with a laugh, wiping the tears from her eyes and downing her drink; a grimace working its way across her face.

“I think; this calls for a toast.” Ororo states, pouring another drink for Nat and holding up her cup “To Wanda and Vision’s first date in the outside world.”

You all raise your glasses and say “Cheers” before you all down your drinks.

“I’m really happy for you Wanda, Vision really loves you; even if he does it in his own unique way.” You say with a smile.

“Thanks (Y/N).” Wanda says with a blush, as she pours more Vodka into her cup.

“Oh (Y/N), before I forget to tell you.” Ororo states in excitement “I finally nailed down the Saturday night special, with the team and it worked out perfectly.”

You couldn’t help but smile like a Cheshire cat “What did I tell you, you just needed an incentive. I’m sure the team was totally shocked.”

“Wait was that the last move you did in the training simulations with (Y/N) when we first met you at the school?” Nat states in awe.

“Yes, that was the second time I had practised that move. But I managed to work out the kinks after seeing the footage from the simulation after you guys left.” Ororo says with a bright smile, sipping her drink.

“I got to say, watching you two training in those simulations was amazing; even Tony spoke about setting up a system like that for us to train.” Nat says with an eager tone.

After a couple of hours and few more drinks, you’re all sitting and chatting about trivial things when Bucky, Steve, Bruce, and Tony walk into the room.

“What the heck is going on here?” Tony states in an agitated voice.

“We’re just chilling and hanging a little girl time; don’t be just a parent Tony.” You say with a smirk.

Not having eaten since breakfast, the Vodka was making you a little looser than it normally would.

“Says the woman we’re trying to save.” Tony retorts in anger.

“Well there’s no need to worry Tony, I’m just finishing off the last drop.” You say before drink the last of the contents of the bottle.

“Seriously Nat, how could you do this; when you know Tony and I have been working for hours trying to find a way to cure (Y/N)?” Bruce says, shaking his head in a disappointed manner.

“I’m sorry Bruce... I didn’t want (Y/N) to be alone right now...” Nat said in a somber voice “We just wanted to spend some time with (Y/N) and have a little fun.”

“Bruce, it’s not her fault… I could have said no… It was my choice. I don’t know how much more I can take of the elders’ slowly tearing me apart from the inside…” you state in a somber tone “I just needed the distraction and get my mind off of everything.”

Everyone just looked at you, shocked and surprised by your admission of losing your battle against the elders.

“(Y/N) don’t say that you’re strong; you can fight this. Just please don’t give up… Please…” Steve says, looking at you imploringly; it is almost heart retching to watch.

Bucky just looks at you completely and utterly distressed and that breaks your heart to see, you know everything about his history and past; and it hurts you to see that he has allowed himself to become attached to you, that the thought of you not existing was killing him.

“Steve I never said I was giving up…” you say in an exasperated tone “But it’s hard to stay positive all the time when control is slipping from my hands at a rate that I can’t even handle.”

“Okay this scene is getting a little too depressing for me, so I need everyone besides Bruce and (Y/N) to leave the room please.” Tony says in a stern tone.

“What are you going to do to (Y/N), Tony?” Bucky asks in a low voice.

“Well Bruce, Helen and I have done some more testing and we’re hoping we have a cocktail that will give us time until Thor and Loki get back.” Tony states in an incensed tone like he’s explaining this to a toddler.

“Tony… Just breaths, (Y/N) are you okay with Tony and me coming in?” Bruce asks in a gentle tone.

“Yeah, it should be okay.” You say, noticing that Tony had pulled out two bracelets from his pocket “Tony, are those what I think they are?” you ask in an apprehensive voice, your eyebrow quirking.

“Well with your powers, we all have to be careful, especially if the elders gain control of you again. I’m really sorry about this (Y/N).” Tony says in a sheepish voice.

Both the super soldiers like upset over this new development, but you don’t focus on them for too long; as it seems that the whole team excluding Thor and Loki have decided to visit you now.

You shake your head, thinking of how they would react if you tested out the bracelets while they were present.

“It's fine Tony, I don’t think I could live with myself if one of you died at my hands; especially if my powers were used.” You say moving towards the door of the tank, Tony mirroring your moves.

Tony unlocks the doors and steps inside the tank, you hold out your hands for Tony to place the bracelets on; thank goodness the elders haven’t broken the barriers Professor Xavier had done.

Once the bracelets are on, you move your wrists to your sides.

“Tony, we need to test these work.” You say in a whisper.

Tony nods and pulls out an apple from his jeans pocket and places it in your hands, taking a step back and exiting the tank. As the door closes you focus your powers, you can still feel it coursing through you.

“Tony, what level are these bracelets at?” you ask before you use your powers.

“I have them at 50% capacity, why?” Tony asks in curiosity.

“Because I can still feel my powers, maybe increase the level at a bit before I test the bracelets.” You say in a commanding tone.

“FRIDAY give me 75% capacity on the bracelets please.” Tony states for the AI system.

“Right away, boss.” FRIDAY responds.

“Tony I’m going to release my power slowly if it manages to damage apple; you need to increase it to 100% to stop my powers completely, okay?” you say in a worried tone.

Tony simply nods and watches you with intrigue and awe, as does the whole Avengers team, as well as Professor Xavier and Ororo.

You focus your mind and will your power to work through your palm, to turn the apple to ash; you keep your eyes on the apple as it shows signs of damage.

“Tony increase capacity now.” You say in an alarmed voice.

“FRIDAY, full capacity NOW.” Tony states; keeping his eyes on the apple.

Suddenly you feel your power dissipate and the apple is still intact except for heavy bruises showing on the surface.

You give Tony a small nod and head over to the bed, taking a seat and taking deep breaths; as you slowly look up at everyone still in the room.

“So you guys still want me on your team?” you ask in a joking manner.

Most of the team give you a smile and laugh, and you can’t help but laugh with them.

“(Y/N) this is no team if you’re not in it, you’re still family with or without your powers.” Clint pipes up.

“Alright you crazy kids, everyone needs to leave; so Bruce and I can work.” Tony says in an agitated tone.

Everyone turns to leave, but you speak up first.

“Professor… Steve… Bucky?” you say, causing all three men to turn around quickly.

“Yes (Y/N)?” Professor Xavier, Steve, and Bucky say in unison.

“Please could you three stay with Tony and Bruce?” you ask looking at your hands.

“Of course we can (Y/N).” Steve says in a calm and gentle tone.

You look at them and give them a smile and nod of thanks; as Tony opens the door to the tank you do something that no one expects.


	53. Chapter 52

Looking down at your hands, you slowly take off your binding rings; sliding off the bed and making your way over to Tony, you place the rings in his hand. Without saying a single word, you turn around and head back to the bed and sit with your legs crossed on the bed.

“(Y/N) what do you think you’re doing by taking off your binding rings.” Tony asks with quirked eyebrows.

You shake your head and close your eyes for a minute, but as you’re about to answer someone else speaks.

“Mr. Stark, (Y/N) is simply preparing herself for a situation that may or may not occur.” Professor Xavier states in a calm voice, giving you a gentle smile as you meet his gaze.

“You’re worried that they’ll use your body to attack us.” Steve asks in concern and worry, it wasn’t really a question for you to answer; it was more of a statement, for everyone present to realise the gravity of this situation.

Bucky looks from Steve to you, you lower your eyes and look at the floor; the feeling of Bucky’s gaze on you just intensifies, you hear his heavy footsteps as he crosses the tank and suddenly Bucky’s in front of you taking your hands into his.

“(Y/N)?” Bucky says in a whisper, waiting for you lift your head and look at him; but you can’t manage it as first, as you try to keep yourself together “(Y/N) please...” Bucky almost begs this time and you relent.

You slowly look up and see Bucky still staring down at you, Steve standing right behind him.

“I’ll never let anything happen to you, even if I have to get Professor Xavier to mentally place me into your mind and so I can help you fight the elders; so they don’t win.” Bucky states in a calm voice, you give Bucky and Steve a small smile; as Steve places his hand over Bucky’s whose still holding your hands.

“We’re not leaving your side (Y/N).” Steve says with a dopey smile, you can’t help the smile that spreads across your face as you shake your head.

“Do you guys wanna get a room? Or can Banner and I get our work done?” Tony asks in an exasperated tone.

You roll your eyes and slowly untangle your hands from Steve and Bucky’s hands.

“Be careful Stark we might just pick your room.” Bucky says with a sneaky expression on his face.

Tony’s eyes go wide as he realises what Bucky is implying and shivers in an uncomfortable manner.

“If you guys defile my lab or my apartment, I will end you both.” Tony states in a stern tone while pointing at Steve and Bucky.

“I think we have diverted from the original reason we’re all here.” Professor Xavier states with a smile.

“Thank you, Professor.” Bruce says with a gentle smile “(Y/N), Tony and I have been working on a different cocktail; based on the results we got from the fight ‘you’ had with Loki. We believe that this cocktail will hold off the elders better than our previous version.” Bruce says in a confident tone.

“Bruce I was meaning to ask you, about the tests you and Tony have been running.” You say, giving Bruce a soft smile “I know that I’m most probably being stupid, but did you analyze all the blood results you took to check against the first blood tests you did on me when I joined the Avengers?” you query with a sheepish smile.

By now Bucky and Steve are standing by the bottom end of the bed, near Professor Xavier who’s comfortably watching the scene from his wheelchair.

“How’s that for confidence...” Tony says in a mocking tone “Real nice of you to think Bruce and I are your average range of scientists.” Tony states with a smirk on his face.

You blush slightly and lower your gaze from Bruce and stay quiet, however, you notice Bucky and Steve shifting their weight from foot to foot; which catches your attention.

“(Y/N) that was the first tests I ran when you came to me with your problem.” Bruce says with a tender smile on his face “However, now it’s become more of complicated since your powers surfaced.”

You turn to look at Bruce, confusion written all over your face; which makes Bruce blush slightly and rub the back of his neck with his hand.

“Basically we might cause more damage to your mind and body or your powers would cease to exist if we don’t carefully analyse your blood work accordingly.” Bruce elaborates with a shy smile.

“Hell, Bruce if you can get rid of my powers while killing the elders I’m all for it...” you state with a broad smile “This power has been a pain in my ass for a hell of a lot of years.” You say in a casual manner; causing all five guys in the room to look at you in utter shock and surprise.

“You don’t mean that (Y/N).” Professor Xavier states frowning at you, as he reads your mind.

“Well some of us don’t have the luxury of having a power as useful as your powers Professor.” You say in a relaxed manner “But getting back to the matter at hand, before Tony’s head explodes from being ignored.” You say with a laugh.

Tony rolls his eyes at you before he and Bruce moved closer to the bed.

“You know for someone who’s supposed to be losing a battle against two powerful creepy beings, you’re doing a damn good job.” Tony says with a smirk on his face.

“Tony, you really have a knack for picking the most inappropriate times to joke around...” Steve says, shaking his head in disdain at Tony.

“Oh please Captain seriously tight pants, just breathe before you give yourself a coronary old man.” Tony states in an amused tone, watching Bruce work next to him.

Bruce places his medical bag on the bed and takes out the equipment he needs to administer the cocktail, Bucky cringes a bit and you turn to meet his gaze; when he notices you looking at him he relaxes a little and gives you a smile.

“Okay (Y/N), you’re going to have to lie down; because this is a really strong dose I’m going to give you, you’ll be knocked out for a few hours.” Bruce says with a nervous smile on his face.

Tony grabs hold of Bruce’s medical bag as you uncross your legs and lie down on the bed, as Bruce gently lifts the left sleeve of your top and wipes with a sterile swab along your arm, where a prominent vein was present.

“You’re going to feel a slight pinch, but you should subside within a few seconds.” Bruce states as he presses the needle of the syringe into your vein.

There’s a pinch just like he says and it slowly eases up, you take deep slow breathes; as the cocktail is pumped into your bloodstream. ‘Please let this work.’ You contemplate, closing your eyes as you feel the medication coursing through your system.

“(Y/N), can you open your eyes for me?” Bruce asks in a concerned tone.

You open your eyes and meet Bruce’s gaze, and give him a small smile.

“How are you feeling?” Tony asks in a curious tone.

“I feel…” you start saying, but words fail you as you lose consciousness.

 

***

You’re surrounded by dirt and a barren wasteland ‘This place again?’ you think to yourself.

“Well, well (Y/N) welcome back; or should we say thank you for giving us a temporary reprieve from the barrier prison the old man put us in.” the first cloaked figure says with a sneer.

“How the hell did you both get out?” you ask in a distressed tone.

“We have our ways.” The second cloaked figure states, leering at you “You know you cannot defeat us; as much as you’d like to believe that, we will take control of you and take your body back to your parents.”

“The Avengers won’t let that happen.” You say in a whisper, you were starting to feel weak; control slipping away from you “The Professor will imprison you again if you try to take over again.”

“Oh we expect a challenge, but you have more than enough knowledge about your teammates and a long history of fighting experience, that we would be able to crush them.” The first cloaked figure says with a laugh “And as for your ‘Professor’, he won’t be able to help you much longer.”

You look at both cloaked figures as you shiver in terror.

“But for now, you have to pay for the consequences of your friends trying to help you with their earth medicines.” The second cloaked figure says with a wide smile on his contorted face.

“What do you mean?” you ask in a panicked state.

“Well you see (Y/N), it’s all a matter of giving and taking; they give you medicine and we take over a function of functions of your body as a consequence.” The first cloaked figure with a laugh.

You can’t help but feel completely uneasy by their words; what were you supposed to do now, if they took one or more of your bodily functions, you could be in for a lot more suffering than you currently trying to work through.

“One way or another I will beat you, you have to have weaknesses… Everyone has a weakness.” You say with some form of faith in your voice.

“Then we shall leave you to try and find a weakness, though we highly doubt you will be able to find one.” Both figures say in unison before everything goes black around you.

You feel 

***

 

You open your eyes as you jolt up in bed, realisation hits when you look around and remember you’re in the tank because of the elders ‘How long have I been out?’ you think to yourself.

“(Y/N), are you alright?” comes Clint’s voice from the shadows.

“Clint?” you say, your voice raspy and husky from the medication Bruce gave you.

Clint walks into the light “Yeah, it’s me. How are you doing? You looked like something spooked you out of your sleep.” Clint says with an anxious voice.

“I’m okay I guess, just another nightmare with the elders.” You state in a hollow voice, there was no use in hiding anything anymore; since the whole team had been made aware of your situation “I could really use some water, right about now.” You say in a tired tone.

“I left you a bottle of water by the entrance of the tank and a sandwich as well.” Clint says with a friendly smile “Nat mentioned something about you not having eaten before you girls decided to have a couple of drinks.” Clint continues with a smirk.

“Yeah, not one of my brightest moments, I’ll admit.” You say with a smirk.

You try to swing your legs over the side of the bed to get up, but your legs don’t move ‘What the hell’ you think, as a feeling of dread washes over you.

The elders’ words echo in your mind ‘you have to pay for the consequences of your friends trying to help you’ and you can feel your chest tighten as panic sets in.

“(Y/N) what’s wrong?” Clint asks in concern moving closer to the tank to get a better look at you.

You don’t answer, instead, you lift each leg over the side of the bed with your hands and ease yourself onto the floor, but as you try to take a step you collapse on the floor in a heap and you choke back a sob.

“FRIDAY what’s going on with (Y/N)?” Clint shouts at to AI system.

“It would seem (Y/N) has lost all motion function to her legs.” FRIDAY states in an objective tone.

Your breath coming out shorter as you feel more pain in your chest, the symptoms of an anxiety attack starting; you start heaving trying to get more oxygen into your lungs, as you hear Clint shouting orders to FRIDAY.

Just then Bucky walks into the room and sees you in your panicked state and rushes over to the tank to gain access to you.

“Wait, Bucky, we need Tony and Bruce here to help (Y/N).” Clint says with urgency in his voice.

“(Y/N) needs to be calmed down; she’s having an anxiety attack.” Bucky says, the door of the tank opening and he strides over to you quickly; kneeling down and placing both his hands on either side of your face and lifting your head so you could look at him.

“Come on (Y/N), you need to breathe.” Bucky says in a tender voice, as he slowly moves his left hand from your face and takes your right hand and places it on his chest, over his heart.

“Come on, breath with me; in and out... In and out...” Bucky repeats over and over to you, keeping eye contact.

Slowly but surely your breath starts to come back; you hear movement outside the tank, but Bucky keeps his hand in place so you focus on him and your breathing.

Once you manage to calm down completely, you give Bucky a small smile in thanks.

“(Y/N), can you get up?” Bucky asks you kind voice.

You feel your chest tighten a bit, and you blink back tears that threaten to run down your cheeks; you simply shake your head.

What you weren’t expecting was for Bucky to gently pick you up bridal style, and place you back on the bed. He props you up with the pillows and pulls the covers up to your waist, as he’s about to walk away from you, you grab his hand.

“Please stay with me?” you ask in a whisper, you would never allow yourself to look and feel this vulnerable, but the loss your legs had hit you hard ‘God damn those fucking elders.’ You think in anger.

“Sure (Y/N), I’ll stay with you.” Bucky says with a smile that reaches his eyes.

“You can sit next you me?” you shift in the bed to make room for Bucky to sit on your left side; you then realise that Bucky is suited up in his Winder Soldier gear “Oh my gosh, did I make you miss your mission?”

“No, you didn’t, Steve and I just came back; it was a quick extraction mission.” Bucky says his smile still ever present on his face.

“Hey (Y/N), I brought the water and sandwich that was by the entrance.” Steve says standing on your right side.

“Thank you, Steve... And thank you Bucky… For calming me down...” you say in a sheepish tone.

“It’s nothing.” Bucky and Steve say at the same time.

“At this point, I should be grateful for any kindness I get…” you say in a dejected voice.

Tony and Bruce make their way into the tank, followed by Professor Xavier and Clint.

“FRIDAY, talk to me.” Tony tells the AI system in a frustrated tone.

“Scans show that the elders have taken control of part of (Y/N)’s brain that controls her mobility.” FRIDAY says in a neutral tone; Tony raises his hands and puts his fingers through his hair in despair.

Bruce moves ahead of Tony and stands at the end of the bed “(Y/N), mind if I do a quick exam on your legs?” Bruce asks his voice full of concern.

“Sure Bruce, though you and I both know what the result will.” You say trying to keep your composure.

Bucky puts his arm over your shoulders in comfort, as Steve opens the bottle of water and hands it to Bucky to hold. Bucky slowly places the bottle to your lips and lets you sip a bit of water, before handing the bottle back to Steve.

“Okay, I’m just going to do one small test.” Bruce says, as he lifts the covers where your feet are situated and pulls out a pen; slowly and purposefully scraping the pen against both feet to check if you respond, when you don’t his face becomes unreadable.

Steve decides to break a piece of the sandwich and feed it to you, which makes you blush slightly.

“Steve you don’t need to feed me.” You state in a self-conscious voice.

“(Y/N), please just let Bucky and me help you.” Steve says in a pleading tone.

You look between Bucky and Steve, realising that they weren’t going to leave you unless they knew you were feeling okay; so you nodded and took a bite of the sandwich that Steve holding out to you.

Between Bucky holding the water bottle for you to drink and Steve feeding you, you didn’t catch much of the conversation between Bruce, Tony and the Professor; who eventually say they need to run a few tests in the lab and they’ll be back later to check on you.

Leaving you alone with Steve and Bucky taking care of you and after you had told Steve that you were full, Bucky hands the empty bottle back to Steve.

It’s different watching a conversation where two people don’t speak, but both people understand what the other is saying with body language and their eyes; Bucky removes his arm from your shoulders and you look at him curiously.

“I’ll come and check on you a little later (Y/N).” Steve says as he gives you a quick hug, which you lean into against your better judgment.

As soon as Steve turns to leave Bucky places his arm on your shoulders again, giving your shoulders a quick squeeze; but as his about to get up from the bed; a strange idea crosses your mind and you decide to follow it anyway.

You stop Bucky from getting up and hug him close to you, placing your face between Bucky’s neck and shoulder; taking in his scent and Bucky stays still at your movement. All the while your left hand slowly moves toward the holster on his right side, where Bucky keeps his knives ‘Just one.’ You think vaguely.

You manage to slip out a knife and hide it under your thigh as you shift a little to squeeze yourself against Bucky and whisper into his ear “Bucky, I really am sorry I behaved like such a bitch with you. Thank you so much for everything you did to help me.”

Slowly you untangle yourself from Bucky as he gives you his most charming smile and places his hand on your cheek, gently stroking it “(Y/N), I wasn’t much of a gentlemen to you to begin with; so I know it makes us even now.” Bucky says with a cheeky smile and gets up off the bed, you pull the covers up quickly giving the impression that you’re cold.

“(Y/N) come with Steve a little later to see how you’re doing, please try to get some rest; while Bruce, Tony and the Professor work on fixing this.” Bucky says with genuine concern and worry in his tone.

“I’ll try, just please make sure you and Steve get some shut eye.” You say softly, as you sink into the bed sheets further, hoping to move the knife down to hide it better.

Bucky nods and makes his way to the door of the tank, placing his palm on the screen making the door open and he walks out of the tank, turning around to look at you as the door closes; you wave goodbye and he leaves the room altogether.

You pull the cover over your shoulders just leaving your head exposed; as your hands gently feel around under the cover to find the knife, when you finally get your hands on the knife, you cut a small hole in the mattress and slide the knife in before you let yourself relax a little ‘There has to be a way.’ You think with no real details, so the Professor doesn’t know what you have done already.


	54. Chapter 53

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I'm sorry for updating so late, the past few weeks have been really hectic. I hope you like this chapter.

You lie awake for a couple of hours, and sleep doesn’t come to you; so you’re left with all your thoughts the past, the present and find yourself feeling frustrated with it all.

A feeling of discomfort, nags at your lower abdomen and you realise you haven’t been to the bathroom in a while; as your about to ask FRIDAY to get someone to help you, you see Nat and Wanda walking into the room and you can’t help but smile when they make eye contact with you.

“Thank God you’re both here, I need to go to the toilet; like now.” You say in a desperate voice.

“We figured as much.” Nat states with a smile “Today we’re going to pamper you a little.”

You tilt your head to look at Wanda and Nat, in curiosity.

“First let’s get you up.” Wanda says as she opens the door of the tank, and both she and Nat make their way over to you.

“Um... Girls, I can’t... I can’t walk.” You say lowering your gaze, holding back your tears.

“We know (Y/N), Ororo is on her way here with a wheelchair; you’re going to get the royal treatment.” Nat says a gentle smile working its way across her face, as she bends down to make eye contact with you.

“Nat I don’t think it’s safe to have me outside the tank for an extended period of time.” You say in a troubled tone.

“It’s okay (Y/N), we’re just going to make sure you have a relaxing bath; then we’ll come back here and we’re going to spend so time with you. We can’t have the guys hogging you all the time.” Wanda says with a kind smile.

You seem to sense like they weren’t telling you everything, but you let that slide as you hear footsteps and the sound of wheels.

“I’m here girls.” Ororo says a little out of breath, as she smiles at everyone.

“Well seems like you girls planned for everything, haven’t you?” you say shaking your head and smile at Nat, Wanda and Ororo.

Nat unlocks the door of the tank and everyone comes in; you watch as they walk closer to you and you try to angle yourself and push the covers to the side, making sure that they focus on you and not on what you were hiding in the mattress.

“(Y/N) I’m going to use my powers to lift you up and place you in the wheelchair, okay?” Wanda says in a gentle tone, a kind smile on her face.

You give Wanda a nod before Wanda releases her powers to wrap around you and lift you up from the bed and gently place you in the wheelchair, Wanda’s power feels warm and you find yourself getting comfortable.

“Alright, let’s get you out of this hell hole.” Ororo states with a smile, clapping her hands together.

Nat walks behind the wheelchair and wheels you towards the door of the tank, Wanda and Ororo flanking both your sides. Wanda presses the button for the elevator, as you all wait in silence as the elevator makes its way down to the basement level.

You all hear a ding as the elevator arrives and the doors open, revealing Steve and Bucky dressed casually.

“Nat, what is (Y/N) doing out if the tank?” Steve asks in concern, a deep frown forming on his forehead.

“Steve seriously, (Y/N)’s been in the tank since the incident with Loki; I’m sure you of all people would realise that she needs to get cleaned up.” Nat says in a cool and composed look.

But the same couldn’t be said about Wanda and Ororo who gave Steve a horrified look like he slapped them across the face.

“Oh… Um… I didn’t…” Steve stammers when he realises where the girls were taking you “I didn’t mean it like that.” Steve shakes his head, lowering his eyes to the floor as his ears start the flush a little pink.

“It’s okay ladies, please don’t let us interrupt.” Bucky chimes in, with a charming smile; motioning for Steve to move further into the elevator to give Nat, Wanda, Ororo and you, space to get into the elevator.

The girls and you get into the elevator and Nat presses the button for her apartment level; the door closes and the elevator starts to ascend.

You can feel eyes on you, so you turn your head slightly and find Bucky and Steve both looking at you slightly worried.

“Something on your mind guys?” you ask both men with a smile.

Nat coughs to cover up a laugh, as Wanda and Ororo simply smile at each other.

“Ah, no… Nothing really…” Steve stutters as he meets your eyes, blushing more and you can’t help but smile at him.

“Actually we were going to come and ask you want you wanted to eat.” Bucky says with a smile.

“Oh okay. You guys don’t have to worry about it, I’m still good from before.” You say, feeling somewhat embarrassed when you think back to Bucky giving you water to drink and Steve feeding you.

The elevator doors open, Nat looks at Buck and Steve and says “Well boys this is the end of the line for us; we’ll see you around a bit later.” As she steers you out of the elevator with Wanda and Ororo both bidding the guys goodbye and following Nat to her apartment.

“They are so hung up on you, it’s getting painful to watch (Y/N).” Nat states in an amused tone.

“Nat please just let it go, I have more pressing matters on my hands right now.” You state with a sigh, smirking at her.

“(Y/N) if we are able to get rid of the elders there’d be nothing stopping you perusing a relationship with Bucky and/or Steve.” Wanda says in a thoughtful tone, taking over wheeling you towards Nat’s shared apartment with Bruce; as Nat unlocks the door and opens for everyone to go in.

Nat closes the door and tells Wanda and Ororo to follow her, as Nat wheels you through to her bedroom.

“Wanda, let’s get you to the bathroom; I’m sure she could use a quick minute to ‘decompress’.” Nat states with a smile and Ororo and Wanda catch on.

They wheel you into the bathroom and Wanda uses her powers to lift you from the wheelchair, floating your body in a standing position.

Nat gently unbuttons your pants and slowly pulls down your pants and underwear, as Wanda moves you to sit on the toilet; seems like Nat had thought ahead and installed steel handles for you to hold onto.

The girls give you a few minutes to yourself and you find yourself beyond grateful, for their thoughtfulness and kindness; after you finish you call out to Nat, Wanda and Ororo, who quickly come in after you flushed the toilet; Wanda floating you again so Nat can pull up your underwear and pants.

“Okay, now the fun part.” Nat says excitedly.

You look at her perplexed, ‘What have they got planned?’ you wonder as Wanda places you back in the wheelchair as Nat and Ororo move around in the bathroom getting the tub filled with warm water and bath salts and oils.

“Guys, you really don’t have to do this; it’s okay.” You say with a smile.

“No it’s not (Y/N), you’re starting to smell a little off and we wouldn’t be good girlfriends if we let that continue.” Nat states as a matter of fact.

“The guys may be polite enough to not say anything, but we can’t let you stay like that.” Ororo says with a comforting smile.

“The Professor told you I needed the toilet, didn’t he…” you say, lowering your head and rubbing your forehead with your hand.

“Whether he did or didn’t, we were still planning on giving you a little time to clean up.” Nat states as if to end the matter.

You watch as Nat turns off the water, she tests the water and smiles “It’s ready for you (Y/N).”

Wanda uses her powers to lift you from the wheelchair again and Nat and Ororo begin to strip you of all your clothes and underwear.

“This doesn’t feel like a gangbang at all.” You say in a sarcastic tone, trying to keep yourself from laughing at the absurd situation.

“We better be careful, we might just land up with another Tony on our hands.” Nat jokes, making everyone laugh.

Once you’ve been stripped of your clothing, Wanda gently lowers you into the tub; but what catches your attention isn’t the amazing sensation of the water on your skin; it’s Nat stripping into her bikini that has your full attention.

“Nat… What are you doing?” you say in a shocked tone, surprise was written all over your face.

“Well you can’t move the lower half of your body, so I’m getting in the tub with you to help you wash and Ororo is going to help me from the side of the tub.” Nat states as if it’s most natural thing for them to be doing.

“Miss Romanoff.” FRIDAY says in a neutral tone.

“Yes FRIDAY.” Nat replies still getting into the tub, sitting behind you.

“Mr. Stark, Dr. Banner and Professor Xavier have requested that you return (Y/N) to the tank as soon as possible.” FRIDAY states in an exasperated tone.

“Please let them know we’ll return (Y/N) as soon as we’re done in my apartment.” Nat states in a superior tone.

“Of, course Miss Romanoff.” FRIDAY responds and the room goes silent.

Nat and Ororo get busy getting wash clothes and body wash to clean you up, Wanda uses her powers to wash your hair; you feel yourself drifting off a little, but you never fall asleep.

You enjoy this time with Nat, Ororo, and Wanda; chatting about anything except what you’re going through, there are moments of laughter and fun, you even get a little adventurous and splash bath water all over Ororo and Wanda causing them to shriek in shock, while then turns into hysterics of laughter.

Wanda lifts you out of the tub with her powers, as Nat climbs out, Ororo hands Nat a towel and they both towel dry you, before Nat quickly exits the bathroom and comes back with clean, new clothes; nothing fancy just underwear, denim shorts, short sleeve top and a pair of thigh high socks.

They dress you and Wanda places you back in the wheelchair.

“I know this wasn’t the full spa treatment, but I think Bruce might hulk out just from being nervous; about the elders making an appearance again.” Nat says in a bit of a disappointed voice.

“Nat it’s okay, I had an amazing time with you three.” You say a shit-eaten grin on your face “We had fun… Well, I had fun getting looked after, don’t know about you, but you three should open a salon.” You joke, as Ororo wheels you back to the apartment door, with Nat and Wanda leading the way to the way.

Nat opens the door and Wanda exits, with Ororo pushing your wheelchair out; finally, Nat comes out and locks her apartment door.

The four of you making your way to the elevator; the elevator is already on your level and the doors open to reveal Vision standing inside looking a little lost.

“Vis, are you okay?” Wanda asks, her head tilting slightly in worry.

“I was just contemplating if I should come and check to see if you were alright.” Vision states in an anxious tone, looking solely at Wanda; his facial features relaxing only slightly.

“Sorry, we got you worried Vis.” Ororo says with a shy smile.

“It is alright Miss Munroe, I think I am happy that Wanda is okay and no one got hurt.” Vision states, giving you a puzzling look.

“Okay, can we please get me back into the tank; so I can stop having so many men worrying about me killing everyone.” You say with a laugh.

Nat pushes you in the wheelchair into the elevator, with Ororo and Wanda following suit; everyone looking sombre and sad.

“Guys, I’m sorry if being this honest and blunt makes you uncomfortable; but the truth of the matter is that I’m losing the battle and someone is going to have to end me if Thor and Loki don’t find a cure.” You say looking at everyone in turn as you spoke.

“FRIDAY please let Tony, Bruce, and the Professor know that we’re taking (Y/N) back to the tank.” Nat says maintaining her poise and level-headedness.

“Of course Miss Romanoff.” FRIDAY responds “Also, Mr. Wilson and Agent Barton have asked me to tell everyone that lunch is ready.”

“Thank you, FRIDAY.” Wanda states and looks from Vision to you and back again, but Vision simply shakes his head at her.

“Wanda its okay, I think I prefer being in the tank so I can’t hurt anyone.” You say with a smile.

The rest of the ride is quiet, once the elevator opens on the basement level; everyone follows Nat into the room with the tank.

Nat unlocks the door to the tank and wheels you in; Vision is standing next to Wanda as she lifts you from the wheelchair with her powers and places you back in bed ‘Thank goodness the bed hasn’t been made.’ You ponder.

“(Y/N) we’ll bring you something down to eat a little later.” Ororo says as she comes closer to hug you.

Nat and Wanda both hug you tightly before they slowly let go at your request, so they’re not late for lunch.

Vision who is prudent on showing any displays of affection in general simply gives you a curt nod which you return and you watch them all exit the tank, giving you a wave before they leave the room; where you are left to your own thoughts of doubt, fear, and anxiety.

You’re brought out of your thoughts when you hear footsteps in the hall outside the room, but you don’t bother to look; from the sound of it, the whole of the Avengers team was making their way to you.

“Hey (Y/N).” Everyone says with smiles on their faces.

Turning your head, you see everyone carrying bags of taking out and cool drinks; you shake your head and smile at them.

“I’ve definitely, never seen you guys being so charitable with contained criminals until now.” You say with a laugh.

“Ah come on (Y/N), you know you’re not a criminal. You’re like a sexy mother that never ages.” Clint chimes in with a shit-eaten grin on his face.

Everyone in the group including the Professor and Ororo is in hysterics over Clint’s comments.

“Really Clint, is that what you think of me; when you jerk off to me at night?” you retort with a smirk.

“Holy shit birdman, (Y/N) just dropped the mic on you.” Sam hollers at Clint from the entrance of the room.

“What can I say (Y/N), you know me so well.” Clint says with a smile and winks at you.

“Well, she did learn that from me.” Tony pipes up, as he heads into the office just off the room with Steve, Bucky, Vision, and Wanda.

While they bring out the conference table and chairs, everyone else takes turns coming into the tank to give you a hug and a little bit of encouraging words; which don’t help with your emotional levels, but you bite the inside of your mouth and give them a smile and thanks.

Bruce is the last one into the tank while everyone is setting up the food and drinks on the table; he makes his way over to you.

“I thought I’d have a quiet minute with you before we all had lunch. How are you feeling?” Bruce asks in an anxious tone.

“Well I’ve been better, but there’s something I’ve got to tell you.” You say with a troubled tone, frowning down at the blanket covering you.

“What is it (Y/N)? Anything I can help with?” Bruce states in a kind voice, placing his hand on your shoulder.

“You, Tony and Cho need to stop trying to make cocktail medication for me.” You say looking up and meeting his eyes, you watch as his eyes go wide and his face is filled with shock “I know you and Tony have been working around the clock to try and find a way to save me, but the elders told me that every time you guys try a new cocktail, they take over a function of my body in retaliation.”

“(Y/N), I’m so sorry...” Bruce says as he pulls you into a hug; your eyes blurring as tears threaten to spill from your eyes.

“I know you all want to save me... but maybe we should wait for Thor and Loki to come back.” You say with a sigh, as you turn your face into Bruce’s neck and shoulder; hopefully rubbing the tears that slipped down your cheeks onto his shirt.

“You can talk to Tony about it after lunch, for now let’s keep this between us, okay?” you say as you pull out of Bruce’s hug.

You look at Bruce and he gives you a small nod “I’m sorry I couldn’t fix this (Y/N)” Bruce states in a solemn tone.

“You, Tony and Cho did everything you could... Thank you, Bruce.” You say and place your hand on his cheek “You are amazing... these bastards are just old and sneaky.”

Tony walks into the tank and shouts “So who’s ready to eat? Care to start (Y/N)?” as he uses his hands to gesture toward the monstrosity of food and drinks on the table.

“Damn you guys went all out on this one.” You say with a laugh, as you try to peer from your bed to see what’s available to eat; but you can’t see all the items.

Tony seems to realise his mistake and says “(Y/N) I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.”

“I know Tony, it’s okay really. Just dish me up whatever there is to eat.” You say trying to smile ‘Should I bring up the topic of who will end *me* once the elders take over my body?’ you ponder.

Steve and Bucky grab two plates and dish up a sample of everything that Tony ordered, as everyone else tries to pretend that everything is okay; grabbing plates and cutlery before sitting down to pass food and drinks around the table, Steve and Bucky make their way into the tank and place the two plates on your bed, Steve hands you the cutlery with a napkin and Bucky places a can of coke cola near the plates for you.

“Thanks, Steve thanks, Bucky.” You say in a timid voice.

“Anytime doll.” Bucky says with his charming smile, as he turns to walk back to the table.

“Do you need anything else (Y/N)?” Steve asks with a sheepish smile on his face.

“No thank you, Steve, everything is perfect like this.” You state as you gesture to the food and drinks.

“Okay, if you need anything; Bucky and I will be sitting closest to the door to the tank.” Steve says giving you his best Captain America smile, before he retreats to the table; sitting next to Bucky who has already starting dishing up for himself and Steve.

As everyone digs into the food, chatter starts up which gives you time to wonder how you were going to ask your family to kill your body if the elders managed to take full control of your body and mind.

‘(Y/N)? Is there something you want to share with everyone?’ you hear the Professor’s voice in your mind.

‘Professor, I’m not sure what to say to them; they don’t have the heart to end *me* if the elders take over.’ you reply to the Professor’s question.

‘Who would you want to do it?’ the Professor responds.

‘It can’t be Bucky or Steve, it would literally kill them; but even if any of the others did it, I don’t know if the rest of the team would be able to forgive the person who can do it.’ You ponder.

‘(Y/N) this is your family, talk to them and let them discuss it amongst themselves and make a decision. You cannot force someone to end your life; they love you as do we back at the school; if you had to ask one of the Xmen the same question, I think you’d find you would have the same situation as you will have with the Avengers.’ The Professor states, as you make eye contact with him, he lowers his head and continues eating his food.

“Hey (Y/N) you’re being extremely quiet, anything you want to talk about?” Tony says with a smile.

You look over at Tony and meet his gaze, everyone had stopped talking to look at you, and so you put your plate down and look at everyone sitting at the table together.

“I actually wanted to talk you all of you about something… I know that you guys don’t want to discuss this topic but I need to get this off my chest.” You say in a serious tone, as you rub both your hands together.

Everyone has stopped eating and is giving you their full attention; you take a deep breath and look at everyone.

“There is a high chance that I’m going to lose the battle against the elders if Loki and Thor don’t get back in time with a cure… If they can even find a cure, that is.” You state in a resolved tone, keeping your facial expression neutral as possible.

“(Y/N) don’t say that we’ll fix it. Just have a little faith.” Steve says, getting up from his seat.

“Steve please sit down, I need to get everything out in the open now and I’d appreciate it if everyone could just stay quiet and listen to what I have to say.” You say in a callous tone.

Everyone seems to sense your urgency and simply nod, as you look at Bruce you can see his shoulders slump slightly; which Nat picks up on and puts her arm over his shoulders in a comforting manner.

“I don’t know how much longer I can fight off the elders’, and Tony, Bruce, and Cho can’t administer any more of the experimental cocktails…” you say in a beaten voice.

The whole team looks at you in shock beside the Professor and Bruce.

“Every time a new dose is injected into my system, the elders take more control of my bodily functions; like the fight, they had with Loki using my body and me not being able to walk now…” you take a deep breath to steady yourself before you continue.

“Their final goal is to take my body back to my parents, even if they have to kill my mind completely to get my body.” You state with urgency, you look around the room at everyone.

Your heart is breaking for your family, as you make eye contact with each of them, you can see how they’re trying to keep themselves calm while you speak.

“What I need to know and ask is simply this... When the time comes… When the elders have won control of my body.” you state with a sigh.

“One of you will need to kill my body, so they don’t get what they came for… What they’ve been trying to get for a century.” You say almost in despair because you know that what you’re asking for is a truly hard decision.

“Whoever pulls the trigger that kills my body, I forgive you and I don’t want you guys to fight over it.” You state in an unwavering tone.

“Once my mind is gone, I won’t be me anymore; which will make my body a threat to all of you and this world.” You finish speaking, so you pick up your drink and take a sip, placing it down next to the plates.

You feel the silence getting more and more awkward, you rub your hands against your temples and forehead, but your actions are interrupted by a loud bang and shouting.

“Bucky don’t!” you hear Steve shout.

When you look at the team, there is Steve trying to hold back Bucky who looks like a raging bull in a china shop; there are food and drinks on the floor outside the tank.

“What the hell (Y/N)! You’re just going to leave and give up?” Bucky shouts at you, his anger clearly visible on his face “So the fact that Steve and I both love you means nothing; you’re willing to accept defeat before the fight is even over!”

“Bucky you need to calm down.” Nat says, as she gets up and walks over to Steve and Bucky; hoping to get Bucky to calm down.

“Don’t even try Nat, I’m not going to sit here and listen to this bullshit; of how she wants us to kill her.” Bucky shouts at Nat, who in return gives Bucky a stern look.

“Where is that fucking hellcat that stabbed me in the leg over a year and a half ago on a mission saving mutants?” Bucky screams at you, as he thrashes violently while Steve tries to keep Bucky restrained.

“I’m sorry Bucky, but it’s the real…” you say, but you don’t get to finish.

“Don’t you dare say it’s a reality? It’s only a reality if you let it become a reality.” Bucky growls at you, you lower your eyes and look at your hands in your lap.

“I can’t do this; I won’t be a part of it (Y/N). If you give up without fighting the elders with every breath in your body, then I won’t be around to watch you get murdered by one of our friends.” Bucky states in a cruel tone; you look up at Bucky as he manages to pull himself free of Steve’s grasp and storms off.

“Guys… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything…” you say, rubbing the heel of your hands against your eyes.

“(Y/N) please don’t do this to yourself…” Ororo says in a grave tone, as she comes into the tank and sits next to you, pulling you into a hug.

“I think I’m going to rest for a bit, I’m sorry I’m not been better company for you guys.” You say looking at everyone who is cleaning up the mess that Bucky caused.

“Don’t worry about it (Y/N), it’s not your fault. We’ll get this cleaned up and get you some peace and quiet.” Wanda says before she uses her powers to help with the cleanup.

Steve walks into the tank and grabs the plates and drink from your bed “I’ll talk to Bucky (Y/N), just promise me you’ll keep fighting. I have faith that everything will turn out for the best.” Steve says with a kind and gentle voice, you’re somewhat shocked when you feel him place a kiss on your head.

He turns around and leaves the tank, he hands the plates and your drink to Sam; before he heads out of the room to look for Bucky.

Tony, Bruce, and the Professor make their way into the tank, as Ororo releases you from her hug.

“You know you could have told me, about the medication not working right?” Tony says in a calm tone.

“I just found out, when the elders told me while I was unconscious. I’m sorry for ruining our team lunch.” You say in a meek voice, Ororo squeezing your shoulder for reassurance, before leaving them to speak to you.

“Professor, before I try to get some rest could you place stronger barriers in my mind…” you ask the Professor with a look of sadness on your face.

“Of course (Y/N), get yourself comfortable and I’ll see what I can do.” The Professor says with a gentle smile.

You gesture for Bruce and Tony to come closer, pulling them into a hug; whispering a ‘Thank you guys’ in their ears and let them go. Watching Bruce and Tony leaving the tank, you feel a tear sliding down your cheek; which you hastily wipe away and lie down in bed.

“Ready (Y/N)?” the Professor asks you.

“Yes Professor.” You say with an assertive tone.

The Professor places his hands on either side of your head and you close your eyes, as the barriers in your mind are re-enforced and strengthened; you slowly feel yourself drifting into unconsciousness and you let it overtake you.


	55. Chapter 54

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys sorry for the wait, unfortunately, life keeps trying to give me crappy hands.
> 
> Thanks to everyone who has given my work kudos and the comments, I am really grateful :)
> 
> I hope you enjoy this next chapter :)

Clint’s POV

You were drifting off to sleep after you had received a new photo from Laura with the kids back home. But you are suddenly awoken by the tower’s AI system.

“Agent Barton, Miss Monrue asks if you are awake, so you could relieve her from watching over Miss (Y/N)?” FRIDAY asks in a monotone voice.

You sit up in bed and rub the heel of your hands against your eyes, yawning as you push yourself of your bed.

“Yeah… Yeah, I’m up. Tell Ororo to give me five minutes and I’ll take over watch.” You respond to the AI system.

“Of course, Agent Barton.” FRIDAY replies and the room goes quiet, except for your shuffling feet as you make your way to the bathroom to freshen up.

You walk out of the bathroom and grab a pair of pants, top and shoes, getting dressed quickly before you exit your apartment and make your way to the kitchen first to grab a sandwich and bottle of water for (Y/N); before you make your way down to the basement.

Once you walk into the room where (Y/N) is being kept, Ororo gets up from her seat and walks over, giving you a hug.

“How’s (Y/N) been doing?” you ask Ororo in a strained tone.

(Y/N) having to deal with something as bad as the elders by herself, was wearing out the team's emotions and nerves.

“(Y/N) has been already unconscious when I took over from Sam, she’s been tossing in her sleep and settles are a minute or two.” Ororo says in a tired voice.

“Okay I’ll keep an eye on her, and I’ll make sure she eats.” You say in a comforting voice, as you show Ororo the sandwich and bottle of water “Now go get some shut eye.”

Ororo gives you a nod and proceeds to leave the room; you walk over to the tank and open the door and place the sandwich and bottle of water just inside of the tank before you step out and let the door close.

Yawning again, you make your way over to the chair Ororo had been sitting in and slump down in the chair.

You pull out your phone and flip through some of the photo’s you have of the team, team building activities, parties, dinners, lunches, etc.

All the photo’s you find with (Y/N) in it, you find yourself lingering and looking at her face closely; you notice that she always tries to stay in the background, trying not to draw attention to herself and you find your mind wondering to the missions you were on with the team and (Y/N).

(Y/N) always was nearly always in the background, in the shadows watching over everyone in the team; making sure to take out any enemies who thought they could hurt the Avengers.

‘As much as (Y/N) thought she wasn’t getting emotionally involved, she was letting her guard down slowly.’ You think to yourself.

Suddenly you hear a noise from inside the tank and lift your head up and see (Y/N) sitting up straight in bed.

“(Y/N), are you alright?” you say with concern and worry in your voice.

“Clint?” (Y/N) says, her voice sounding raspy and husky.

You get up from the chair and walk into the light so (Y/N) can see you “Yeah, it’s me. How are you doing? You looked like something spooked you out of your sleep.” You ask in an anxious voice.

“I’m okay I guess, just another nightmare with the elders.” (Y/N) states in a hollow voice “I could really use some water, right about now.”

“I left you a bottle of water by the entrance of the tank and a sandwich as well.” You say with a friendly smile “Nat mentioned something about you not having eaten before you girls decided to have a couple of drinks.” You state with a smirk.

“Yeah, not one of my brightest moments, I’ll admit.” (Y/N) admits with a smirk.

You watch as (Y/N) tries to swing her legs off the bed, but you notice that her legs aren’t moving at all.

“(Y/N) what’s wrong?” you ask in concern moving closer to the tank to get a better look at you.

(Y/N) doesn’t answer your question and you watch as she lifts each leg over the side of the bed, so she can get out of bed.

But before you can caution (Y/N) to not get up, she tries to stand as her feet touch the floor and you watch as she collapses onto the flor.

“FRIDAY what’s going on with (Y/N)?” you shout at the AI system.

“It would seem (Y/N) has lost all motion function to her legs.” FRIDAY states in an objective tone.

“FRIDAY get Bruce and Tony down here right now!” you all but scream at the AI system “Get a full body scan of (Y/N) ready for Tony and Bruce.”

“Right away Agent Barton.” FRIDAY replies.

You’re about to make your way over to the door, waiting for Tony and Bruce to arrive; you turn and look as you hear someone enter the room, it’s Bucky making his way over to you, still dressed in his Winter Soldier gear from his completed mission and puts into the code to open the tank.

“Wait Bucky! We need Tony and Bruce here to help (Y/N).” You say with urgency in your voice.

“(Y/N) needs to be calmed down; she’s having an anxiety attack.” Bucky says, as the door of the tank opens and he strides over to (Y/N) quickly; kneeing down and placing both his hands on either side of (Y/N)’s face and lifting her head so she can look at him.

You watch in awe, as Bucky manages to be extremely gentle with (Y/N), which is saying something; since Bucky is usually the hard ass, not really sensitive towards the team, but then again the team treated him like everyone else.

“FRIDAY where is Tony and Bruce?” you shout at the AI system.

“Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner are on their way down with Professor Xavier.” FRIDAY states in a neutral tone.

“How far away are they from the basement?” you shout back at the AI system.

“Mr. Stark, Dr. Banner and Professor Xavier are approximately three minutes away.” FRIDAY responds calmly.

Turning back to (Y/N) and Bucky inside the tank you, you watch in surprise as Bucky manages to get (Y/N)’s breathing under control ‘He must really love her, to be that level headed and not totally freak out.’ You think to yourself.

You decide to stay outside and out of the way for when Tony, Bruce, and Professor Xavier arrive. You catch movement inside the tank and watch with a smile as Bucky lifts (Y/N) up bridal style and places her back in bed, covering her with the sheet and blanket.

“Clint, what happened?” Tony says as he rushes into the room, Bruce close behind wheeling in Professor Xavier and surprisingly enough Steve rushes into the room last, coming up to you.

“(Y/N)’s lost the function of her legs...” you say trying to keep your voice impassive “She turned to get up from the bed, to grab the water bottle and sandwich I left by the entrance of the tank; but her legs wouldn’t move and she turned to stand up but her legs couldn’t manage.”

You watch as Steve walks into the tank and picks up the sandwich and bottled water, and makes his way over to (Y/N) and Bucky.

Turning your attention back to Tony, Bruce and the Professor, resume explaining what you saw.

“I already got FRIDAY to do a full body scan on (Y/N), while you guys were coming down.” You finally finish, heaving a deep breath.

(Y/N)’s situation was getting worse with time and if what Loki said was true, it was clearly a miracle that she had survived this long, but then again how much longer could she keep going if the elders were killing her slowly.

“Tony let’s see what’s going on. Professor, do you think you could take a look inside (Y/N)’s mind while we quickly exam her?” Bruce says in a thoughtful voice.

“Brucie? Is (Y/N) okay?” you hear Nat’s voice.

“Bruce, I’ll talk to Nat; you guys do what you need to do.” You say, grabbing Nat by the hand and making your way over to the darker area of the room to talk to her.

The Professor stays where he is, hopefully checking what’s going on in (Y/N)’s head; you make eye contact with Nat and sigh.

“It’s getting worse, the elders have taken away the functionality of her legs; she’s basically paralysed from the waist down...” you in a dejected voice, as you look at the floor.

Nat puts her hand on your shoulder “It’s going to be okay Clint, let Tony and Bruce fix this; I’m sure they can at least holt the elder's efforts until Thor and Loki get back.” She continues in a confident tone.

“Nat, you didn’t see the way she reacted to not being able to walk; this is really bad. What happens if the elders get her, who’s going to fight them when they use (Y/N)’s body?” you say in a disturbed voice, looking up at Nat.

“For once can you stop breaking character and stick to be the optimist?” Nat states with a small smile.

Having known Nat for as long as you had, you could see the worry in her eyes; just a few seconds and suddenly her poker face was back.

You sigh, shaking your head as you rub your neck with your hand.

“Let me walk you back to your apartment, with the science bro’s and the Professor exam (Y/N)?” you say in a weary voice.

You look up and follow Nat’s gaze, which is focused on the tank and you find yourself a little shocked but happy at the same time; as you watch Bucky and Steve looking after (Y/N) and feeding her.

‘Well, at least they get to spend some time with her, and get to standing in (Y/N)’s personal space.’ You think to yourself.

Nat gets your attention back, by linking her arm with yours and turns you around heading for the door, making your way to the corridor leading to the elevator.

“Let’s give those three a private moment.” Nat states in a kind voice, it’s not often someone gets to hear it; but you had the privilege of hearing a handful of times.

“Those three could use a lot more private moments if you ask me.” You say with a somber tone.

“I’m sure they’ll figure things out, Clint.” Nat says with a smile.

“Without your help, I highly doubt it. I wish Laura was here, she’d know exactly what to do.” You say with a sense of longing, whenever you thought of your wife.

“So you’re saying I’m not good enough birdbrain?” Nat states in a prickly voice that has you flinching.

“No, NO!!! I’m not Nat I promise.” You say rushing through your words before Nat decided to kick your ass “I just really miss Laura, and watching the three of them in this crappy situation is just frustrating.”

“I know what you mean Clint, (Y/N) is just stubborn; both Steve and Bucky could make her happy.” Nat says, walking into the elevator with you as the doors open “Keep me company until Bruce gets back to the apartment?” Nat asks with a gentle smile.

“Of course, my deadly spider.” You say with a joking smirk, as Nat pulls you towards her shared apartment.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Professor Xavier’s POV

Tony and Bruce recommended that you get some rest, so you made your way back to your apartment that you had been allocated.

Wheeling yourself into the bedroom, you can’t help but feel pain and sadness in your heart.

Having to see (Y/N) in the tank without the function of her legs was hard on you, you still remember how you lost the use of your legs; so you could relate to how (Y/N) was feeling at the moment.

Though there was one encouraging thought, (Y/N) had allowed Steve and Bucky to care for her. It was hard to believe that after she left the school, having said she would never allow herself to fall in love ever again; not after her visions of Logan and Remy’s death if she still in their lives.

Your laptop makes a shrill noise, telling you that someone was calling you on Skype, so you move over to the desk and accept the video call.

It’s Logan and Remy, you look at your computer, while you listen to both men talking to you; checking in with you to know how you and Ororo are doing.

“When are you coming home, Professor?” Remy asks in a worried voice.

“I’m not sure Remy, right now I am needed here.” You say in a calm tone, hoping that Remy and Logan would not try to ask any more questions about where you currently were.

“And where exactly is it that you are needed, Professor?” Logan states in a cynical tone.

“Logan, have I done something to upset you?” you ask with a patient voice; almost like trying to reason with a toddler.

“You tell me, Professor, because from what I hear you’re at the Avengers compound and didn’t even bother to tell us.” Logan growls at the computer screen.

You shake your head and sigh deeply, poor Beast must have had a hell of a time having to deal with those two before he gave up your location.

“Logan it’s not what you think… I was needed urgently, so I came to help the Avengers. I will be home soon hopefully.” You say, being vague as possible.

“And what is it exactly that the ‘great’ Avengers need help with?” Logan persists in a hostile tone “Thought they could solve and problems; clearly, they’re not as good as everyone thinks they are.”

“One of their team members is ill and needs my help Logan, I would not be so hasty to persecute the Avengers; I remember a time when you needed my help.” You say in a calm voice, reminding Logan of how he managed to help him with his memories.

As Remy opens his mouth to speak, FRIDAY’s voice is heard in your room.

“Professor Xavier, Tony and Bruce have requested your presence in the lab to discuss (Y/N)’s treatment.” The FRIDAY states in a neutral tone.

“WHAT HAPPENED TO (Y/N)?!” Logan and Remy shout in unison through the screen at the same time.

“I need to go, Logan and Remy; (Y/N) will be okay, I will contact you in the morning.” You say as you end the Skype call.

Turning your wheelchair around, you make your way out of your apartment and down to the lab; where Tony and Bruce have been working tirelessly to rid of the elders’.

As you make your way down to the lab, you get an overwhelming feeling from Logan and Remy; which causes you to sigh ‘This is not going to help.’ You think as the doors of the elevator open and you see Tony and Bruce working over a table together.

The door to the lab opens as you approach and both men turn to face you.

“Professor, I’m sorry to have woken you up.” Bruce says in a tender tone, he looks almost embarrassed to have disturbed you.

“Dr. Banner, it’s quite alright; I wasn’t asleep. Though I do need to bring to your attention that the compound might get two visitors soon.” You say in the calmest tone you can muster.

“What do you mean visitors?” Tony asks with a quirked eyebrow.

“Mr. Stark, I mean that two of the Xmen will come to the compound whether we want them to or not.” You say rubbing your fingers against your temple.

“Are you talking about the two guys we encountered at your school when you was taken to the infirmary?” Bruce asks with a concerned look on his face.

“Yes, Dr. Banner, unfortunately, Logan and Remy will not let (Y/N) move on, after her decision to leave them.” You say looking up at Tony and Bruce.

“Well, they’re sure as hell aren’t coming into my house to cause trouble that’s for sure.” Tony says in an annoyed voice “FRIDAY ensure facial recognition for one Logan and Remy from the Xmen, I want all information of both men, like yesterday.”

“Of course boss.” FRIDAY states in an effortless tone.

“Mr. Stark, excessive force will be unnecessary, I promise they will behave; if you could simply let me know when they are first spotted I’ll be able to communicate with them telepathically. They won’t cause any trouble.” You say in a stern voice, hopefully, Tony will believe that you are able to ‘control’ Logan and Remy; even if you know it’s not possible.

“Fair enough Professor... I can live with that; FRIDAY as soon as Logan and Remy show on our surveillance, notify me and Professor Xavier.” Tony informs the AI system.

“Of course Boss.” FRIDAY responds with a hint of sarcasm ‘I swear that this man is giving life to artificial intelligence.’ You ponder while shaking your head.

“Let’s get back on track.” Bruce states with a gentle smile.

You look at Bruce and nod your head in agreement.

“What have the scans revealed?” you ask in a serious tone.

After taking a quick look into (Y/N)’s mind, you were shocked to see how the elders had taken control of parts of her brain; you found yourself wanting to know what the scans would reveal.

Tony has the scan of (Y/N)’s body projected for all three of you to look at, and you found yourself covering your mouth with your hand; they had taken quite a bit of control of your brain and full function of her legs.

“I’ve asked FRIDAY to keep scanning (Y/N) to have an hourly comparison to see if there are any changes.” Bruce says in a disturbed tone, his frown lines deepening.

“Bruce, we’ve got to face it; (Y/N)’s losing the fight. We’ve looked over all the scans together and her body keeps deteriorating with every day that passes.” Tony says in an angry tone, rubbing his face with his hand.

‘It’s strange how he has such a strong connection with (Y/N), it’s almost like he regards her as a blood relative.’ You think to yourself, as you catch some glimpses of what is going on in Tony’s head.

“Mr. Stark, I think we can give (Y/N) a little more credit; don’t give up hope...” you say, but you don’t get to finish what you had to say; since Tony seemed to be at his wit's end.

“HOPE! Is hope going to kill these bastards, because right now their fucking laughing at us!!!” Tony shouts at you, rage and anger visible on his face as he throws a random mechanism across the room.

You see Bruce move away from Tony and you, almost like he wants to get out of this situation.

“Please excuse me, gentlemen.” Bruce states as he makes his way out of the lab, shaking slightly.

“Tony... You know that’s not what I meant.” You say in a calm and gentle tone, keeping your eyes on Tony.

“I know Professor… I’m just so angry that (Y/N) never bothered to tell me about these assholes… I would have had FRIDAY running systems for any sightings of them right from the beginning. I would have made sure she was safe.” Tony says trying to keep his emotions in check, as he slumps into a chair in the lab.

You wheel yourself over to where Tony is, placing a hand on his shoulder; which he shrugs off quickly.

“I don’t need comforting and coddling, I’m fine.” Tony states in a harsh tone, not making eye contact with you.

“Tony you don’t have to be strong all the time, its okay to feel different emotions; you’ve always shown yourself to people as an unemotional person, but I know that you are a truly kind and caring person.” You say placing your hand back on Tony’s shoulder and this time Tony leaves it there, you feel Tony shake slightly; wiping at his cheek “I understand how you feel Tony and I’m not upset with your outburst, I feel the same as you; but in the same breath we need to work through our emotions, so we can all be strong for (Y/N).”

“I know Professor, I haven’t let anyone get that close to me since my...” Tony says, but can’t bring himself to finish his sentence.

“I’m sure it must have hurt and still hurts, but the main thing is that we remember those we love; their memory is the most important thing to keep in our mind and heart.” You say, hoping to give Tony some consolation.

A few minutes go by with neither of you speaking; eventually, Tony motions to get up from the chair and looks at you.

“Um, thanks... for the ah... Chat. I really need a drink.” Tony stammers slightly before he turns and walks out of the lab.

You take a deep breath and shake your head, there was no point in trying to get any more work done since both Bruce and Tony had walked out of the lab. So you decide to make your way back to your apartment.

‘Ororo, are you awake?’ you ask through telepathy.

‘Yes Professor, is everything okay?’ Ororo responds in her mind.

‘No Ororo, (Y/N) has lost the ability to walk… The elders have taken over control part of your brain; (Y/N) is losing the fight.’ You let Ororo know, and you can feel her emotions as she cries.

‘Ororo, listen to me please…’ you ask, hoping Ororo would still be able to hear you and not be completely lost to her emotions.

‘I’m… I’m listening Professor…’ Ororo responds in a wretched tone.

‘I want you, Wanda and Nat to spend some time with (Y/N); maybe have a girl’s morning together.’ You tell Ororo ‘(Y/N) needs a little distraction, to keep her mind in a balanced place. Can you do that for (Y/N)?’ you ask Ororo.

‘Of course… Of course Professor, I’ll speak to them when we meet in the kitchen for breakfast.’ Ororo says her emotions seeming to even themselves out, with the thought of spending time with (Y/N).

‘Alright, I’m going to rest for a while; so I can meet with Dr. Banner and Mr. Stark.’ You let Ororo know ‘See you in the morning Ororo.’

‘Sleep well Professor.’ Ororo replies before you stop the telepathic connection with her.

Finally make it back to your apartment, you feel exhausted physically and mentally; this situation that (Y/N) is in, is taking a toll on everyone around her; which is pushing your powers somewhat over the edge, as you try to filter everyone’s feelings and to keep close tabs on (Y/N)’s psychological state.

‘Hopefully, the latest barriers you put up, while Bucky and Steve were caring for (Y/N) will hold better.’ You think before you quickly check in on (Y/N).

You hear (Y/N)’s only thought ‘There has to be a way.’ You hear (Y/N) say in her mind; your chest tightens thinking of everything she is going through.

‘We will find a way (Y/N), I promise.’ You think to yourself before you allow yourself to get a little shut-eye.

\--------------------------------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So let me know what you think :)
> 
> My apologies in advance, as I don't have a beta to help me with this story.  
> If you happen to find any mistakes please let me know, and I'll amend them asap.


	56. Chapter 55

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the irregular posts of chapters, unfortunately between my own healthy and my sister's; I have been quite preoccupied.
> 
> Hopefully, you enjoy this chapter, let me know what you think :) and thanks for reading :)

Reader’s POV

You don’t dream of much, just a feeling of floating in nothingness in your unconscious state after the Professor placed stronger barriers on your mind.

Slowly opening your eyes, you notice that the lights on the tank have been placed on dim ‘Thank goodness’ you think to yourself. Shifting your body onto your side, making sure you’re curling in on the spot of the mattress that you had cut with Bucky’s knife.

You keep your mind distracted with other thoughts, of the good times and sad times you’ve had with the Xmen and the Avengers, so the Professor wouldn’t register what you were planning on doing.

Gently you shove your hand into the cut mattress and fish out the knife, while you’re still lying under the blanket and sheets; grasping the handle of the knife, you slowly pull it out of the mattress so if anyone is watching you, they won’t know what is going on.

Rolling onto your back you keep the knife close to your thigh, for the right moment; sitting up in bed and call out to FRIDAY.

“Yes, Miss (Y/N)?” FRIDAY asks in a neutral tone.

“Please could you live stream what I’m about to say to the team, Professor Xavier, and Ororo?” you ask in a calm and tender voice, keeping your face expressionless; just in case Tony asked FRIDAY to scan your facial features to keep tabs on you “Only face and shoulders FRIDAY.”

“Of course, Miss (Y/N).” FRIDAY states in a thoughtful voice.  
You get yourself into sitting position and arrange the knife between your legs, keeping your hands and forearms covered by the blanket; before you clear your throat and begin speaking.

“Hey, everyone... I’m really sorry for ruining lunch earlier... I know that all of you are hoping for a saving miracle at this point and I understand that no one wants to hear that I might not make it… Seems that sometimes my honesty can be overwhelming... I really didn’t want to upset anyone, but I needed everyone to know that there’s a possibility that…” you trail off for a few moments.

You shift a bit as you grab the knife subtly in your left hand and cut deep into your right wrist, you clench your teeth around a whine for a few seconds and take a deep breath as you feel blood pouring out of the cut, moving the knife to your right hand and cut into your left wrist.

“I won’t put anyone in such an uncomfortable position of having to kill my body, so I made my own choice… I’m sorry…” you state in solemn tone before bringing the knife to your throat.

Taking a deep breath you close your eyes and press the knife down into the right side of your neck, but your hand is grasped so hard you can’t move it at all; you feel the blanket and sheets pulled back and another hand grabs your right hand pulling it up.

Opening your eyes, you’re met with two pairs of fiery blue eyes staring back at you in horror; you look around and see Steve holding his hand over the cut on your left wrist and Bucky holding his flesh hand over your right wrist.

\-----------

 

Bucky’s POV

Having everyone together for lunch was a great idea, you sat next to Steve and kept glancing up to check on (Y/N) every once in a while; the slight frown on her face had you feeling somewhat uneasy, but you keep it to yourself.

You look up at Tony when you hear him say “Hey (Y/N) you’re being extremely quiet, anything you want to talk about?”

Glancing at (Y/N) when she meets Tony’s gaze, you hear the room go silent and you stop eating to give (Y/N) your full attention.

‘Please don’t let things be getting worse... I don’t think I can handle more bad news about (Y/N)...” you think to yourself, feeling a panic attack slowly creeping up on you.

“I actually wanted to talk you all of you about something… I know that you guys don’t want to discuss this topic but I need to get this off my chest.” (Y/N) says in a serious tone, as she rubs both her hands together.

You glance around the room to find that everyone has stopped eating, drinking and talking; turning their full attention to (Y/N).

‘This can’t be good...’ you think, as you take a deep breath; as your chest gets tighter and you start finding it harder to breathe.

“There is a high chance that I’m going to lose the battle against the elders if Loki and Thor don’t get back in time with a cure… If they can even find a cure, that is.” (Y/N) states in a resolved tone, her facial expression neutral as ever.

“(Y/N) don’t say that we’ll fix it. Just have a little faith.” Steve says, getting up from his seat.

“Steve please sit down, I need to get everything out in the open now and I’d appreciate it if everyone could just stay quiet and listen to what I have to say.” (Y/N) says in a harsh tone.

“I don’t know how much longer I can fight off the elders’, and Tony, Bruce, and Cho can’t administer any more of the experimental cocktails…” (Y/N) says in a crushed voice.

You look at (Y/N) in complete and utter shock ‘She’s giving up... I can’t believe it... she’s literally willing to die and leave me alone in this world...’ you ponder, taking deep breaths to try and calm down.

“Every time a new dose is injected into my system, the elders take more control of my bodily functions; like the fight, they had with Loki using my body and me not being able to walk now…” (Y/N) states as she takes a deep breath before she continues.

Your mind is starting to get unfocused, and you can feel your chest closing up, but you try your hardest to keep calm and focus on (Y/N)’s voice.

“Their final goal is to take my body back to my parents, even if they have to kill my mind completely to get my body.” (Y/N) states with urgency, as she looks at everyone in the room.

Nobody says anything, as you look around at the team you can see the same emotions on their faces, as you’re feeling.

“What I need to know and ask is simply this... When the time comes… When the elders have won control of my body.” (Y/N) states with a sigh.

‘No (Y/N), you can’t ask for that... No, no, no... Please don’t say it.’ You plead in your mind, not trusting your voice to speak just yet.

“One of you will need to kill my body, so they don’t get what they came for… What they’ve been trying to get for a century.” (Y/N) says in desperation “Whoever pulls the trigger that kills my body, I forgive you and I don’t want you guys to fight over it.”

You hadn’t realised that you had been holding so tightly onto the table until you hear the table crack; as your body starts to shake.

“Once my mind is gone, I won’t be me anymore; which will make my body a threat to all of you and this world.” (Y/N) finishes speaking.

Unfortunately, you can’t take anymore and almost launch yourself from your seat to get into the tank; but you feel a strong set of arms around your chest, holding your arms to your side, stopping you from storming into the tank to confront (Y/N).

“Bucky don’t!” Steve shouts at you, trying to get your attention.

You’re trying to control the panic attack that is threatening to take over, but all you can focus on is that (Y/N) just asked the whole team to decide who gets to kill her.

“What the hell (Y/N)! You’re just going to leave and give up?” you shout at (Y/N), your anger flaring out of control “So the fact that Steve and I both love you means nothing; you’re willing to accept defeat before the fight is even over!”

“Bucky you need to calm down.” Nat says, as she gets up and walks over to you and Steve; but you can’t seem to get your anger under control right now, even with Nat trying to help.

“Don’t even try Nat, I’m not going to sit here and listen to this bullshit; of how she wants us to kill her.” Bucky shouts at Nat, who in return gives Bucky a stern look.

“Where is that fucking Hellcat that stabbed me in the leg over a year and a half ago on a mission saving mutants?” you scream at (Y/N), as you remember the day you both met; Steve tightens his grip, even more, to keep you from causing damage, but all you do is thrash more violently to get out of Steve’s grip.

“I’m sorry Bucky, but it’s the real…” (Y/N) says, but you give her a chance to finish speaking.

“Don’t you dare say it’s a reality? It’s only a reality if you let it become a reality.” You growl at (Y/N), ‘How can she do this to me.’ You think to yourself.

“I can’t do this; I won’t be a part of it (Y/N). If you give up without fighting the elders with every breath in your body, then I won’t be around to watch you get murdered by one of our friends.” you state in a cruel tone; you watch as (Y/N) looks up at you; just as you manage to pull yourself free from Steve’s grip.

You storm out of the room, leaving everyone behind as you run; you don’t know where you’re running to but right now you didn’t care.

When you finally allow yourself to stop running, you collapse on a grassy patch of ground; looking around you see you’re in the spot that (Y/N) had brought you and Steve to meet the animals she spends time with.

All the pent up anger, frustration, and sorrow you’d been feeling ever since you found out about (Y/N) being sick just came crashing down on you and you let the tears spill down your cheeks; sitting down, you pull your knees up to your chest, wrapping your arms around your legs, letting your head hang limply between your knees and you cry.

You’re not sure how if you’d been there five or ten minutes, but you hear some rustling in the bushes not far from you.

Putting your head up, you see a little rabbit pop out from the bushes; using your flesh hand, you wipe away the tears from your cheeks and watch as the rabbit makes its way over to you.

Gently as ever, you place your metal hand, palm up and open on the grass “Hey little fella, what are you doing here?” you ask the rabbit in a timid voice.  
The rabbit hops closer and sniffs at your metal arm; you hold back a cringe that the rabbit might fear your metal hand, but to your absolute shock the rabbit jumps into your metal hand and looks up at you with curious eyes.

“You are a very weird rabbit.” You say with a small smile on your face.

Slowly lifting up your hand, you bring the rabbit closer to your chest and you find yourself trying not to laugh out, as the rabbit scrambles from your hand to nestle between your chest and legs; snuggling its head in your hair that is hanging around your shoulders.

You can’t help but feel a little relaxed as the rabbit, tickles you with its whiskers along your neck and face. Closing your eyes you try to relax your mind from the stress you’re feeling, especially with everything that (Y/N) said.

After a few minutes you hear more rustling in the bushes and think it might be more of the animals from the forest, but you keep up on the dense crunch of the grass and know it must be a human being. Turning around you find Steve walking through one of the bushes, looking at you with concerned eyes.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you, Buck.” Steve says in a nervous tone.

“I know Steve... I just couldn’t sit there and listen to (Y/N) give up hope.” You say in a depressing tone, keeping your eyes on the rabbit now.

“Buck I know it’s hard... I can’t imagine what the Avengers will be like or what both our lives will be like without (Y/N) being in it.” Steve says with a dejected voice, rubbing his face with his hand.

You look up at Steve, who has moved closer to you; the rabbit choosing that moment to hop off your knees and make its way back into the bushes.

Steve places his open hand in front of you, for you to take; you place your hand in his and he helps you to your feet and pulls you into a hug, you grip Steve tightly as you take a deep breath.

“Let’s go save our girl.” Steve says, as he pushes you back a little, letting his hands linger on your shoulders and give you that winning smile that you remember back from the 1940’s.

You turn your body, so you and Steve could head back to the compound; you pull Steve closer to you, your arm on his shoulders just like old times.

“I don’t think (Y/N)’s going to forgive me, for the mean things I said…” you say in a sad voice, looking at your feet as you both head back to the compound.

“Buck, I’m sure she’ll forgive you. Don’t be so hard on yourself; you’ve done so well ever since we found you in Bucharest.” Steve says in a cheerful tone, nudging you in the ribs with his elbow.

You look up and see Steve giving you an encouraging smile, his eyes shining with more hope than any one person should be capable of; you return his smile with a timid one of your own.

As you step back into the compound, FRIDAY comes over the system.

“Sergeant Barnes, I have a new message and an incoming message for you.” FRIDAY says in a neutral tone “Captain Rogers the incoming message is for you as well.”

“Who are the messages from?” you ask in a concerned tone.

“The first message is from Agent Hill, prioritized as urgent red alert.” FRIDAY responses “The second message is from (Y/N) for all the Avengers.”

‘Why would Hill send me a message? My last mission with Steve went off without a hitch.’ You thought to yourself.

“FRIDAY play Agent Hill’s message quickly and patch us both through for (Y/N)’s message straight after.” Steve states as you had not given FRIDAY instructions.

“Agent Hill has stated that Sergeant Barnes needs to head to her office, as there was a discrepancy with the inventory taken on Sergeant Barnes’ weapon from the last mission.” FRIDAY states in a calm tone.

“That makes no sense I handed over all my weapons that I hadn’t used during the mission.” You said to Steve in worry, your brows furrowing as to what was missing.

“FRIDAY which of Bucky’s weapons was missing?” Steve asked the AI.

“I believe Agent Hill states it was one of the stainless steel double-edged throwing knives.” FRIDAY responds in a monotone.

“Okay, let Agent Hill know that Bucky and myself will see her in the next thirty minutes.” Steve says with a contemplating looking on his face.

“FRIDAY please play (Y/N)’s message.” You tell the AI, trying to distract yourself from your missing weapon.

“Right away, Sergeant Barnes.” FRIDAY states in a neutral tone.

“I don’t get it, Buck, we unarmed ourselves after we got back from the mission; how did you lose a knife?” Steve asks in an inquiring voice.

You mull over Steve’s question for a few minutes, while you both wait for (Y/N)’s message to come through.

FRIDAY projects the image of (Y/N) in the tank, before (Y/N) even starts talking.

“Is this a live feed FRIDAY?” you ask, anxiety washing over you.

“Yes, it is Sergeant Barnes.” FRIDAY responds.

You and Steve both watch as (Y/N) makes eye contact with the camera and addresses the whole team.

Realisation hits you when you remember that you never made it to the weapons room; because you had gone to check on (Y/N) first and found her having a panic attack in the tank.

“Hey, everyone... I’m really sorry for ruining lunch earlier... I know that all of you are hoping for a saving miracle at this point and I understand that no one wants to hear that I might not make it… Seems that sometimes my honesty can be overwhelming... I really didn’t want to upset anyone, but I needed everyone to know that there’s a possibility that…” (Y/N) trails off for a few moments.

You don’t hear the rest of the message as you turn to Steve who meets your eyes and you blurt out “She’s trying to kill herself!”

Both of you turn back to the video feed and watch as (Y/N) shifts slightly in the bed and immediately you see the cover going dark.

You break into a sprint towards the stairs, as Steve runs to catch up with you.

“God, why didn’t I do my own inventory?… God, I’ll never forgive myself…” you say to yourself, feeling a sense of dread filling your being.

You both make it down to (Y/N) within seconds, Steve running up to the tank as you see (y/N) closing her eyes and you watch her hand wielding your knife up towards her neck.

“Steve we got to get her now.” You spit out at Steve.

Steve rushes in first and grabs (Y/N)’s hand with the knife as you grab her other hand over the cuts on the wrist to stop the bleeding.

You watch as (Y/N) opens her eyes and looks at both you and Steve standing in front of her, holding her hands tight so she can’t finish the job she set out to do.

\---------------------------

 

Reader’s POV

“Stop it (Y/N)!” Steve and Bucky state in a harsh tone.

Your mind starts to go fuzzy and you feel yourself lose control of your body and mind ‘No, no, no NO!!!’ you practically scream in your mind, watching in shock as your body moves of its own accord to kick and punch at Steve and Bucky forcing them away from you.

The knife ready in your hand, even with blood running onto your hands and dripping on the floor; the muscles tense and ready to attack them; you’re screaming in your mind for the Professor to help, but all you get is the cackling of the elders and you can’t get control back.

“(Y/N) I know you can hear me, you need to take back control.” Steve says in a calm a voice as he can muster.

[Unfortunately (Y/N) isn’t in control anymore, that last stunt of trying to kill herself was the last straw. We’re in control now and we’re leaving one way or another.] you hear a distorted version of your voice say to Steve and Bucky.

“You can’t take (Y/N); she’s not some property you can just take for yourself.” Bucky says anger making his body shake slightly in anticipation.

Trying your hardest to get control of your mind, you don’t see how your body lunges forward to attack both Steve and Bucky, but the move you fight the move your surrounding change.

Before you have a chance to do anything else, you feel walls solidify around you and then the real horror hits you, as realization dawns on you.

The elders have placed you in the prison that the Professor had them placed in; from the small opening where the bars are in the wall, you can make out Bucky and Steve trying to defend against your body’s attacks.

It’s not going well; Bucky and Steve are sporting deep cuts on their arms and chest; in an effort to restrain your body.

Suddenly you hear a hell of a commotion by the entrance of the room and manage to catch a glimpse of Logan and Remy pushing past the Avengers from your peripheral vision, but your body keeps fighting Bucky and Steve.

“Get your hands of us.” Logan all by shouts at the Avengers as he pushes forward throwing Nat and Clint across the room, Remy Hitting Sam across the head with his pole and pulling out a couple of playing cards from his jacket.

“Logan, Remy stop, please. (Y/N)’s not herself and you both need to calm down right now.” The Professor states in an authoritative tone “Ororo please take Logan and Remy, to the side room, while we handle this situation.”

Though you don’t get a chance to see much else, as your focus is back on Bucky and Steve fighting for dear life; so as not to hurt your body. You feel your body getting sluggish now from the blood lose ‘At least you bastards won’t have my body.’ You think with a smile.

You feel a pair of strong arms enclose around your upper torso, keeping your arms tightly against your sides, as another set of hands gets the knife out of your hand and holds both your wrists tightly.

‘Please just kill me please!’ you scream in your mind, not that anyone could hear you since the elders had full control of your body and could access your memories and fighting styles easily.

As you look around the room hopelessly praying for someone to end this situation, you see Tony approach quickly and plunge a syringe into your neck; forcing you unconscious and making your body go completely limp.


	57. Chapter 56

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait guys, I seem to get a little distracted by other writer's fan fiction *Blush*.
> 
> I don't have a beta, so if you find a mistake please let me know :)

Logan’s POV

You hadn’t gotten much sleep, not since (Y/N) left you and Remy; ‘How could she do to us... To me... After everything I gave up and had to compromise to be with her.’ You think angrily to yourself.

These last five years had taken a toll on you and Remy, when (Y/N) left the school and both of you; you thought you could bring her back, make her come back home to you both. But never happened by the time you had found (Y/N) the first time it was almost a year and she had already seen her long time friend Marge.

‘Damn witch.’ You mumble to yourself; because of Marge (Y/N) no longer knew what the feeling of loving someone romantically meant, all her feelings towards Remy and you were gone; Marge said that it was the only way for us both to live.

You’re brought back from your thoughts when Remy’s car comes to a complete stop and Remy pats your shoulder gently.

“Hey old man, we’re five kilometres out from the compound.” Remy states with a smile.

You remember that smile when you had thrown (Y/N)’s letter in the trash can and said you were going after her.

“Let’s get our sweetheart back Remy.” You say in a gruff voice, trying to keep your thoughts in check.

Both of you scout around the perimeter of the compound, Remy creates a diversion using his powers; giving you both a chance to get into the compound while everyone ran over the multiple explosions that went off thanks to Remy.

You sniff the air, getting a feel of the different people in the compound; there’s a very faint scent of (Y/N), she hasn’t been around in this area for at least a week.

As you and Remy make your way around the corridors, avoiding people where possible and knocking out the rest, hiding the bodies in closets and rooms; you take stock of your surroundings and the scents in this area are definitely the Avengers, you sure as hell got a long whiff of theirs scents back at the school, when they had stopped by with (Y/N).

As you turn the corner you’re met by Ororo who blocks your path, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Ororo, get out of the way.” You say with a snarl.

“Logan, Remy... The Professor says you are to come with me, as he would like to explain the situation to you.” Ororo says in a soothing manner, her expression not quite concealing her distress.

“What happened to (Y/N) Ororo?” Remy asks in a worried tone, his brow furrowing as he met your gaze.

Just as Ororo was about to speak, a computerised female voice spoke to Ororo.

“Miss Munroe, (Y/N) has a message for you, will you receive it?” said the female voice.

“Where the hell did that voice come from?” you asked, “And if that message is from (Y/N), you might as well play it right now Ororo.”

You watch as Ororo sighs and lets her shoulders drop slightly.

“Okay, I’ll accept the message, but you two have to promise me that you’ll come with me straight to the Professor immediately after.” Ororo says with a worried expression on her face.

“Okay, fine; now hurry up and get the message up.” You say in the calmest tone you can muster, without losing your shit.

Ororo speaks to the female voice, that’s called FRIDAY and a holographic video of (Y/N) comes up.

She looks like she’s in some sort of holding prison and she doesn’t look to well; but before you can ask Ororo what these assholes have done to her, (Y/N)’s voice can be heard as you look at the hologram.

“Hey, everyone... I’m really sorry for ruining lunch earlier... I know that all of you are hoping for a saving miracle at this point and I understand that no one wants to hear that I might not make it… Seems that sometimes my honesty can be overwhelming... I really didn’t want to upset anyone, but I needed everyone to know that there’s a possibility that…” (Y/N) trails off for a few moments.

Your eyes go wide, as you look at (Y/N) ‘She wouldn’t, not again. She wouldn’t kill herself to save someone.’ You say to yourself without much conviction.

“Ororo she’s trying to kill herself, get the Professor now and take us to her.” You all but growl at Ororo, as Remy looks like he saw a ghost.

“FRIDAY get the Professor down to the holding tank right now, let the Avengers know that (Y/N) is trying to kill herself and let the Professor know that Logan, Remy and myself will be making our way there right now.” Ororo says to the strained voice “Follow me, guys.”

You and Remy take off after Ororo as she leads you to where (Y/N) is being held ‘Caged like an animal...’ you think to yourself. As you three get closer to (Y/N), you can smell her scent, but also the scent of blood; (Y/N)’s blood to be exact, your thoughts were right on the money.

As you, Remy and Ororo rush into the room, you watch in horror as (Y/N) is fighting off those two idiots that got in your way back at the school. There’s blood everywhere, both men are bleeding as is (Y/N).

The Avengers are in the room working out exactly what to do, to stop the chaos going on in the holding tank. You can’t stand watching the fight anymore and both you and Remy launch yourselves forward to get (Y/N) away from the two morons, but the Avengers quickly get in both of your ways and try to restrain you and Remy, and you both only go still when you hear the Professor’s voice.

“Logan, Remy stop, please. (Y/N)’s not herself and you both need to calm down right now.” The Professor states in an authoritative tone “Ororo please take Logan and Remy, to the side room, while we handle this situation.”

You turn around and see the Professor staring at (Y/N) seriously, his hand placed by his temple; you can see it in his eyes that he’s struggling to get into (Y/N)’s mind.

Remy looks to you for the next move, but you shake your head and follow Ororo into the side room like the Professor said.

Watching through the one-way window, you watch both men fighting (Y/N); no not fighting but trying to restrain her and when you focus, you notice they’re trying to get a hold of her wrists. ‘(Y/N) sliced her own wrists... Why? Who was she protecting?’ you ponder as you watch in dismay.

“What do we do Logan?” Remy says in a worried tone.

You look at him and sigh “There’s nothing we can do bud, we got to wait for the Professor to explain what’s going on; those idiots are trying to save her from bleeding out anymore than she already has.” You state in a reluctant voice, ‘At least they wanted her to live, that’s a good thing right?’ you ponder.

After all the commotion dies down, you finally take a seat and wait for the Professor to come in. Some guy with a dark goatee on his face, comes storming into the room.

“I should have you both arrested and placed in the Raft for break-in and entering.” The guy says in a condescending tone.

He’s the type of guys that you would love to beat the shit out of for being a jackass.

“Good luck with that bub.” You say in a snide tone, a smirk working its way on your face.

“Please Tony, I am sorry for what they have both done; allow me to pay for the damage and I will take responsibility for what they did.” The Professor states in a somber tone.

So the guy’s name was Tony, that must mean he’s ‘Iron Man’; you snort when you look at the guy again.

“It’s okay Professor, I have more than enough money to spare; I just don’t appreciate these two Thundercats sneaking into my compound without an invitation.” Tony says with a smirk while he keeps eye contact with you.

“Once again, I am sorry about the transgression. If it’s possible could I have a few minutes alone with them, so I can bring them up to speed with (Y/N)’s situation?” the Professor asks in a calm and tranquil tone.

Tony just nods and turns to leave, and you, of course, could never let yourself stop being an asshole to people who didn’t know you.

“Yeah, we’re sorry... Really.” You say with a sneer, pulling a cigar out of your pocket and lighting it.

Tony turns to look at you but doesn’t say anything on account of the Professor shaking his head at you.

Once Tony leaves and he closes the door behind him; Remy, Ororo take a seat by the table, but you keep watching for a little while through the one-way window as the Avengers move (Y/N) out of the tank onto a gurney.

Heaving a sigh, you take a seat and look at the Professor.

“I think that it would be best if I get you both caught up with (Y/N)’s predicament; I’ll show you exactly what has happened through telepathy.” The Professor says, giving you and Remy a somber look.

“Of course, Professor.” Remy states with an urgent look on his face.

You simply give the Professor a nod and brace yourself for what he is going to show you.

The Professor connects with Remy’s and your mind, you see from his prospective everything that he had experienced since Dr. Banner had called the Professor to tell him about (Y/N)’s medical situation.

Your chest getting tighter as you watch the Professor and Ororo rush over using the Blackbird to get to the Avengers compound to help (Y/N).

The feelings the Professor felt while seeing into (Y/N)’s mind and having to place barriers on her mind and stop the elders from taking control of (Y/N)’s mind and body. You feel Remy tense in his seat and you hold yourself together, you can’t be seen as weak; not when (Y/N) was hurting this much; you close your eyes to focus on what the Professor is about to show you and Remy.

After the Professor finished showing you and Remy everything he knew, you felt more in control of your mind as the Professor withdrawals from both your minds.

Opening your eyes slowly, you look through the one-way glass and notice that the Avengers and (Y/N) are gone; but you control your temper, remembering everything that the Avengers were doing to try and help (Y/N).

Your mind drifts back to (Y/N)’s tattoo in the Professor’s mind and it makes you smile a little “So you blocked her powers, Professor.” You say in a nostalgic tone, looking at the Professor “I wondered how she got rid of the tattoo, to begin with.”

“She asked me, Logan, you know how she gets and I would not let her seek out methods that would harm her.” The Professor states in a calm and tranquil manner.

“I never saw a tattoo on (Y/N) while we were all together, was it before I came to the school Professor?” Remy asks out of curious expression on his face.

“It was a few years before you came along Remy; you know how she gets when she wants things to go her way.” You say in an exasperated tone, putting out the cigar on your hand, so as not to upset the Stark kid any more than was necessary at the moment.

Watching your hand heal within a few seconds, you rub your face with both hands and then look between Remy and the Professor and Ororo.

“Can we see her Professor?” you ask in a quiet tone, which seems to surprise everyone in the room.

“I think you will be able to see her, from outside the medical bay room; the Avengers are somewhat aware of (Y/N)’s past relationship with you both and they’re very protective of her, especially since she got sick.” The Professor says in a calm manner, hoping to keep the mood between everyone serene.

You huff out a breath and look down at the floor “Alright if that’s all they’re willing to give; I’ll take it.”

You feel a hand on your shoulder and look to see who is touching you; you’re met with Ororo giving you a sympathetic look, her hand resting gently on your shoulder. Giving her a small smile, you get up from your seat and wait patiently for Remy to get up as well.

“Okay, I’ll take you both to see (Y/N); but I ask that you stay out of the doctors’ way and let them help her.” The Professor states with finality and moves his wheelchair towards the door; you and Remy giving the Professor a nod in agreement.

Making your way to the elevator behind the Professor and Ororo, you feel your chest tighten somewhat, but swallow the feeling down for (Y/N)’s sake.

‘Please be okay (Y/N), we need you back.’ You think to yourself, hoping that what little faith you have would help (Y/N) out of her situation.

\--------------

 

Sam’s POV

You watch the Professor, Bruce, Tony and Ororo go into the tank; but decide that your talents would be better used to help clean up the mess that Bucky’s outburst had made, so you get to work with the rest of the Avengers to clean up the food and spilled drinks.

‘How the hell did such a perfectly good lunch get wasted…’ you thought to yourself, sighing deeply as you helped clean up the mess outside of the isolation tank that (Y/N) was in; crouching down to get the remaining mess off the floor.

Your mind stewing over the events that had taken place since (Y/N) came back to the compound, it just felt so unfair for someone like (Y/N) to suffer like this; outliving anyone that she would have considered friends and even family.

(Y/N) didn’t deserve this, not after she had managed to save everyone’s life at least once since joining the Avengers. ‘I should have tried harder to get her talking and hanging out.’ You think to yourself.

Hand brushes over your shoulder and you’re brought back to the present, looking to the source of the touch you see Wanda looking at you somewhat concerned.

“Sam it’s not your fault, you know that right.” Wanda says in a kind voice.

Throwing the last of the wasted food into a bag, you simply nod and standing up; keeping the bag in your hands.

“It’s just hard to see someone as strong as (Y/N) being brought down to her knees, literally begging for her life to be ended.” You say in a discouraged tone.

“I know what you mean Sam; it isn’t easy watching a team mate go through something as horrifying as this. To slowly lose function of her own her body and mind, I don’t think I could hold out as long as (Y/N) has if I had been in her position.” Clint says in a somber tone, having heard you and Wanda talking.

“Let’s give them a little privacy guys.” Nat states to the group while nudging her head in the direction of (Y/N) and the people in the tank with her.

You follow behind everyone and left Tony, Bruce, Ororo and Professor Xavier in the tank; making your way back to the kitchen and disposing of all the wasted food with a deep sigh since you really hated wasting good food.

“I’m going to hit the training room, anyone else wants to join?” Clint asks giving everyone a small smile; you knew he was trying to get the team distracted from the situation in the basement.

“Sure, why not bird brain.” You say with a smirk on your face.

Surprisingly enough everyone else decided to join in, which shocked you a bit; but hey at this point in time there was no point in sitting down and moping about something that was way over their heads right now.

Everyone left to change their clothes and met in the training room 15 minutes later, each person taking some individual time to warm up and get in a little cardio before splitting into teams and working on strategies and technics to help the whole team in real fight situations.

About an hour or so into Clint’s idea FRIDAY announces that (Y/N) would like to speak to them, so you all look on as FRIDAY brings up a video feed from the tank of (Y/N) and everyone waits patiently for (Y/N) to speak.

You look on in concern with the way that (Y/N)'s facial expression looks out of place; she’s never woven that kind of expression in front of the team, ever. (Y/N)’s voice brings you out of your thoughts.

“Hey, everyone... I’m really sorry for ruining lunch earlier... I know that all of you are hoping for a saving miracle at this point and I understand that no one wants to hear that I might not make it… Seems that sometimes my honesty can be overwhelming... I really didn’t want to upset anyone, but I needed everyone to know that there’s a possibility that…” (Y/N) trails off for a few moments.

Worry takes over your mind, and you feel yourself shiver at what (Y/N) wasn’t communicating, but everyone practically jumps when FRIDAY’s voice comes over the system.

“I must inform you that (Y/N) is trying to kill herself, Captain Rogers, Sergeant Barnes, Professor Xavier, Mr. Stark, Dr. Banner, Ororo and two men by the names of Logan and Remy are all on route to the basement.” FRIDAY states with some concern in her voice.

Everyone looks at each other and realisation sets in ‘Shit!’ you think in anger ‘It’s going to be a blood bath with Bucky, Steve, Logan, and Remy; especially after their previous meeting at the school.’

Every face seems to have the same thought in mind and everyone bursts into a sprint for the stairs.

Everyone makes it to the basement before Ororo, Logan, and Remy, since the team was close, which is good; since you’re not sure how those two guys will handle seeing the horrifying scene in front of you.

Steve and Bucky are both taking hits from (Y/N), even with her wrists bleeding out; you feel your stomach churning with the amount of blood coming from all three of them.

You take a step forward, in hopes of helping; but Nat grabs you by the shoulder and you turn to look at her.

“Trust me you don’t want to go in there unless you want (Y/N) to never forgive herself for killing because of the elders. Let Rogers and Barnes restrain her themselves, none of us can handle (Y/N) like this.” Nat says in a low voice, it’s almost like she’s slightly intimidated by (Y/N) fiery and animalistic skills for killing.

“Okay, but what about those two guys that are coming down with Ororo?” you ask, your eyebrows furrowing.

“FRIDAY where are Stark and Banner?” Clint asks the AI system in an anxious tone.

“We’re here, HOLY FUCK!” Tony shouts in shock as he sees the blood bath in the tank.

“Tony we need to sedate (Y/N) right now, as soon Steve and Bucky have restrained (Y/N); you need to inject her. IF I go in there I might Hulk out from the tension in there.” Bruce says in a concerned tone, pulling out a syringe from his bag.

Then you hear from footsteps and look at the door as Ororo comes bursting into the room with Logan and Remy.

Both men’s eyes go straight to the scene in the tank, their faces expressing their fear and anger.

Then all hell breaks loose outside the tank “Get your hands of us.” Logan all by shouts at the Avengers; as he lunges forward throwing Nat and Clint across the room.

You don’t notice Remy extending his pole and he hits you across the head and pulling out a couple of playing cards from his jacket.

‘What the fuck is he going to try and play poker?’ you ponder to yourself, but before a fight can break out you hear the Professor speak.

“Logan, Remy stop, please. (Y/N)’s not herself and you both need to calm down right now.” The Professor states in an authoritative tone “Ororo please take Logan and Remy, to the side room, while we handle this situation.”

Getting up slowly and rubbing the spot on your head where Remy hit you, you notice how they look at (Y/N) and follow Ororo into the side conference room.

You check on Clint and let Bruce check on Nat; thank God no one is really injured from that little scuffle.

As everyone turns their attention back to the tank, you see Steve and Bucky have a strong hold on (Y/N) and the knife is on the floor; Tony practically sprints inside the tank and sedates (Y/N).

A shiver goes through your body as you watch (Y/N)’s body go completely limp ‘God this is really fucked up… Thor, Loki you need to get back with a cure like ASAP…’ you ponder in desperate need.

You decide to stay back and let Tony and Bruce do what they do best, but you find yourself getting curious as Vision floats into the tank; as the rest of the team outside the tank watches.

Bruce gets Steve let go of (Y/N)’s wrist, as he quickly presses gauzes and bandages the wrist tightly and asks Steve to keep the pressure on the wrist and repeats the process with Bucky.

Tony then gets Steve and Bucky to carry (Y/N) to the med bay; for surgery to be done to fix the damage (Y/N) had done to her wrists, the three of them moving quickly while Tony shouts for FRIDAY to have the elevator ready for them to go straight to the medical bay.

You notice Vision pointing out something on the floor to Bruce, and Bruce’s eyes go wide with some form of realisation. The team unconsciously move closer to the entrance of the tank.

“I can’t believe it Vision, I think you may have a working theory here; I need to get to my lab ASAP; to do a quick test.” Bruce says in an elated tone, his facial expression more relief then panic; as he runs out of the tank and leaving the room without explaining anything.

“Viz, what’s going on?” Wanda says in an interested voice.

“I believe Dr. Banner might be able to save (Y/N), physically at least at this moment; though we do not know if the elders’ have killed her mind.” Vision states for everyone to hear like it’s a casual discussion about different colours of the rainbow.

Nat, Clint, T’Challa run out of the room quickly, leaving you and Wanda behind with Vision.

You decide to step into the tank and have a closer look at what Vision had shown Bruce, as you look at the blood from Steve, Bucky and (Y/N); it’s pretty obvious what Vision has seen.

The dark almost black blood from (Y/N) was separating, as Steve and Bucky’s blood mixed with (Y/N)’s blood. From what you read, the black part was the elders’ blood; which means that if he was thinking correctly, Steve and Bucky’s blood could save (Y/N) from dying.

Seems that Wanda also figures it out and you both smile at Vision, turning around you make your way up to the med bay to see how (Y/N) is doing and hopefully Bruce had tested out Vision’s theory and it works.

When you reach the med bay, everyone is standing outside the operating room; watching from the observation window. Everyone is so tense, it’s making you feel anxious ‘Everything is going to work out.’ You keep thinking to yourself, as you watch the doctors working on (Y/N)’s wrists.

Steve and Bucky refuse to leave to get medical attention for their wounds, so the doctors patch them up while they keep their eye completely fixe don (Y/N) the whole time.

After a few hours, the doctors finish closing up (Y/N) and move her into recovery. Everyone is following the nurses as they wheel (Y/N) into a large room and place her gently in bed, with padded restraints; which they place on (Y/N)’s ankles and hands to keep her in place.

Before anyone gets a chance to say anything about it, Bruce’s voice comes over the AI system and asks everyone to come through to the lab immediately.

“I will stay with (Y/N), as I’m sure you would all like to see Bruce.” Vision says in a calm and collected tone.

If anyone thought that the Avengers were quick to assemble for a threat in the world than they clearly hadn’t seen how quickly they could assemble to save a friend’s life.

You’re mind working overtime thinking only of the positive that Bruce could say, placing any doubts and negative thoughts to the back of your mind; especially since Bucky and Steve were falling apart with worry and concern of (Y/N)’s mental and physical health.

‘Come on Bruce, don’t fail us now…’ you think to yourself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the chapter :)
> 
> Let me know what you think :)


	58. Chapter 57

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys, I hope you're enjoying the story :)
> 
> Please let me know if you find any mistakes, so I can correct them; since I don't have an amazing Beta to help me out.

Bruce’s POV

As you get Steve to let go of (Y/N)’s wrist, you quickly and gently wipe some of the blood off her arm to get a better look at the cut ‘Damn it the cut is really deep...’ you think with worry.

You get some gauze and apply it to (Y/N)’s wrist and bandage it tightly and get Steve to re-apply pressure, as you move on to (Y/N)’s other wrist, which Bucky is holding and do the same as before.

Standing up you tell Steve, Bucky, and Tony to take (Y/N) to the medical bay; the doctors would need to do surgery immediately or (Y/N) was going to die.

While you bend over to put all the used items back in your bag, Vision appears next to you.

“Hi Vision, everything okay?” you ask, looking a little curious at Vision’s facial expression.

“Dr. Banner, I have some information for you to consider; would you like to hear it?” Vision states; as he still gazes at the floor with intrigue.

“Of course Vision, any information at this point could be of use and worth hearing.” You say in a hopeful tone.

“I find it highly intriguing that Captain Rogers and Sergeant Barnes blood seems to be separating (Y/N)’s infected blood.” Vision states in a matter of fact tone, indicating with his hand and pointing towards a pool of blood on the floor.

Your eyes gaze to the area Vision is showing you.

“I believe that both men’s super soldier serum may have attributed to this phenomena, the elders’ blood seems to be unraveling from (Y/N)’s blood from the looks of the black substances being pushed apart; it is almost like watching oil and water in fact.” Vision states in an interested tone.

“I can’t believe it Vision, I think you may have a working theory here; I need to get to my lab ASAP; to do a quick test.” You say with a new found hope, your facial expression filling with more relief than panic.

‘We might have a way to save (Y/N) without waiting for Thor and Loki.’ You think to yourself as you run out of the tank and leaving the room without explaining anything to the rest of the team.

You make it back to your lab in record time and pull out samples of (Y/N)’s tainted blood and of Steve’s and Bucky’s from the storage fridges, so you can run tests to check if Bucky and Steve’s blood can save (Y/N).

Setting up the different combinations of blood samples combined, you ask FRIDAY to also run diagnostic to see how (Y/N)’s body and mind would handle blood transfusions from Bucky or Steve or even both.

Trying to be patient was not in your favour, so you tried to distract your mind hoping that FRIDAY would bring up the results soon. After a couple of minutes the holographic screen comes up with the results and your face goes blank.

“FRIDAY get the Avengers here now.” You say with a level of seriousness.

“Of course Dr. Banner.” FRIDAY’s voice came over the system.

You pace slowly around the lab, working through everything in your mind and sorting out the equations that are bombarding your mind, measurements blood to body mass ratios, etc, etc, etc.

Heavy and fast footsteps bring you back to the present and you see everyone coming into the lab, excluding Vision; who you assume has opted to stay with (Y/N) in the med bay.

Before you even get a word out you are blitzed with multiple questions at the same time from everyone on the team.

“Guys, seriously; I’m already on edge right now, so let me please talk first before you all try to get my attention at the same time.” You say in a calm voice, hoping that everyone would follow suit and cool down a little.

Everyone stops talking over each other and looks at you in silence, you know they’re worried you might Hulk out; so you close your eyes and take a deep breath, breathing out slowly you open your eyes and look at the team.

“Right, so I have run tests based on an observation from Vision; while we were in the isolation tank.” You say in a matter of fact tone “What Vision saw was that Steve and/ or Bucky’s blood was causing the elders’ blood to separate from (Y/N)’s blood; so I came back here and test up a combination of samples to test out the theory that the serum in either Steve or Bucky, hopefully, both were pushing out the elders’ blood, and allowing (Y/N) to live.” You explain further, so the team understood what you had done.

“Okay, so get to the point Brucie.” Tony says with an impatient tone.

Everyone else’s seems to mirror what Tony had voiced, shaking your head you continue.

“FRIDAY please bring up the results of the tests we just ran.” You ask in a tranquil tone.

The holographic screen comes up and Tony’s eyes go wide ‘Did I look like that when I saw the results?’ you wonder to yourself.

“Does this mean what I think it means Brucie?” Tony asks in a soft voice, the whole team looks at Tony in astonishment, since Tony never ever spoke like that around them.

“Is it a workable theory?” T’Challa asks looking over the results with intrigue.

“It is.” You say taking a deep breath.

But before you can say anything else, Clint pipes up “If you science geeks are quite finished makes us normal people quietly for a full explanation, now would be a really good time.”

“Sorry everyone.” You say, in little embarrassed since T’Challa was the only other person besides Tony who understood science and didn’t need the full explanation of what the screens were showing.

“So, I ran multiple tests combining Steve’s blood with (Y/n)’s and Bucky’s blood with (Y/N)’s; I also ran a combined test with both Bucky and Steve’s blood together with (Y/N)’s.” You explain in a collected voice.

“And?” Bucky all but shouts at you, making you jump.

“Sorry... It seems that we have a good chance at saving (Y/N) and getting the elders’ blood out of (Y/N)’s system if we do a blood transfusion from Bucky and Steve.” You say with a small smile on your face.

Everyone except T’Challa and Tony erupts into shouts of joy and hugging each other; when Steve and Bucky approach you to thank you, they look between you, Tony and T’Challa with curiosity.

“There’s something you’re not telling us, Bruce.” Bucky says in a concerned tone, his face becoming stern.

You rub the back of your neck and sigh “Look, the results can give (Y/N) back the full function of her body, but the real question is...”

“Will she still be in control of her mind?” T’Challa finishes your sentence, which gets him the super soldiers’ attention.

That question gets everyone’s attention and the lab goes silent again.

“The results, that FRIDAY has shown me, indicates that (Y/N) has lost full function of her mind...” you say looking at the floor.

“No, no, no...” you hear Bucky says, as he crumples to his knees, with his hands over his ears; eyes squeezed tightly shut.

Steve immediately crouches next to Bucky, putting his arm around him in comfort and speaking softly so only Bucky could hear him.

As you look up at the rest of the team, who seem to be in different stages of distort; you see Tony on the verge of tears and it makes your stomach twist uneasily.

“I think it would be best to ask Professor Xavier to examine (Y/N)’s mind before we make a final call on the state (Y/N)’s in psychologically.” T’Challa chimes in looking away from the holographic screens.

“Steve could you take Bucky to his apartment and get yourselves cleaned up and get back to the med bay when you’re ready?” you ask with a worried look on your face, when you see how devastated Bucky looks; as Steve pulls him up.

“Sure thing Bruce, we’ll meet you there in 20 minutes.” Steve says in a reserved tone and leads Bucky out of the lab towards the elevator.

“I’m guessing that everyone else isn’t going to sleep anytime soon.” You state with a sigh, watching as the rest of the team nods in agreement “Okay, let’s go to the med bay and I’ll have a conversation with the Professor.”

As everyone makes their way out of the lab heading for the elevator, you walk up next to Tony and nudge his shoulder.

“Thanks, Bruce... I think (Y/N)’s still in there...” Tony states in a hopeful voice.

“I think so too, it is most probably just really hard for her to get back control right now.” You say comforting tone.

As the elevator doors open, everyone piles in and the elevator progress to the med bay level; when you finally make it to (Y/N)’s room you see the Professor with Ororo and the two guys from the school ‘Remy? And Logan?’ you think over the names to make sure you remembered their names correctly.

The four of them are outside of (Y/N)’s room, which is a good thing. We don’t need any incidents in (Y/N)’s room while she was unconscious.

“Professor, I’m glad that you’re here; I need to speak to you urgently please.” You say with a pressing tone in your voice.

“Of course Dr. Banner, would you prefer to speak in private or can we speak here? As Logan and Remy are opposed to leaving until there has been a change in (Y/N)’s condition.” The Professor states with a sense of frustration.

“Here is okay, the Avengers are aware of the information I’m about to give.” You say giving the two men next to the Professor a brisk nod.

“Alright then, what have you managed to find out.” The Professor says you watch as the Avengers get somewhat comfortable in the chairs opposite the door to (Y/N)’s room.

“We’ve managed to find a way to extract the elders’ blood from (Y/N)’s system and (Y/N) will have full function of her body again.” You say in a confident tone “There’s a high concern we have though; we’re worried that the elders’ might have already destroyed (Y/N)’s mind.” You continue to explain to the Professor, but your explanation is cut short by Logan.

“(Y/N)’s mind is not destroyed!” Logan shouts at you, and you find yourself trying to stay calm; as you feel the Hulk stirring inside you.

“Logan, please... We do not need Dr. Banner turning into the Hulk.” The Professor reprimands Logan; this causes Logan to cross his arms over his chest and stay quiet while glaring at you.

“Professor I was hoping that you could do a psychological examination of (Y/N)’s mind, to see if we can give her completely from the elders?” you ask in an almost pleading tone.

“Of course I can, it would be an honour to help with saving (Y/N).” Professor Xavier says with a smile on his face.

“Thank you, Professor, we can go into the room for you get a stronger connection with (Y/N).” You say walking over to the room and opening the door for the Professor to wheel himself in.

“Hi Vision, please could you give the Professor and myself a few minutes in here alone?” you ask Vision, with a small smile “I’ll be out in a minute to bring you up to speed.”

“Of, course Dr. Banner; I’ll use the door.” Vision replies, and points toward said door before walking out of the room.

“Thank you, Dr. Banner, (Y/N) is very lucky to have all of you looking out for her; I’m sure she makes it extremely difficult for all of you to get too close to her.” The Professor says with a smile, as he wheels his way over to where (Y/N)’s head is on a pillow.

“I think we’re lucky to have (Y/N), even if she chooses to distance herself from the team at times; she seems to make us feel more like a family than we felt before.” You say returning the Professor’s smile “Would you like me to wait outside Professor?”

“I believe it would be best; I’ll be out as soon as I’m done with the examination, Dr. Banner.” The Professor states and places his hands on either side of (Y/N)’s head.

You quickly exit the room and close the door behind you; as you join everyone by the window to watch the Professor; until you hear footsteps and turn to see Steve and Bucky approaching; their faces going from sad to angry in a few seconds.

Realisation dawns on you, that they’ve seen Logan and Remy and were about to have a confrontation with them; but of course, your perfect girlfriend always sees a situation before it even starts.

Nat, whispers something to Clint and Sam and the three of them run over to Steve and Bucky.

Ororo seems to pick up on the vibes coming from Steve and Bucky, so she places herself between the four men; as do the rest of the Avengers.

Steve and Bucky walk up to you after a few tense moments.

“How is everything going Dr. Banner?” Steve asks with an apprehensive voice, Bucky keeping his eyes on you for the moment.

“Well, I asked Professor Xavier to do a psychological examination; to find out if (Y/N) is still mentally alive.” You state in a gentle tone; you watch in shock as Bucky and Steve’s faces crumble in horror at the thought that (Y/N) might already be dead.

“Guys, seriously; we don’t know if (Y/N) is or isn’t. So I need you both to be positive while the Professor uses his powers to find (Y/N), okay?” you ask both men in an imploring manner.

Both Bucky and Steve nod silently at you and turn to face the window, watching Professor Xavier and (Y/N) very intently.

 

\--------------------

Professor Xavier’s POV

As soon as Dr. Banner closes the door, you begin placing barriers over your own mind; in anticipation of the elders’ putting up a fight.

Ever so gently you move your hands over either side of (Y/N)’s temples and closing your eyes ‘Let’s see what they’ve done.’ You think to yourself, as you proceed to use your powers on hopefully (Y/N)’s mind.

You delve right in and are completely and utterly shocked by what you find, this isn’t (Y/N)’s mind, not as you remember it anyway.

Everything is dark and eerie, you slowly and carefully make your way through; calling out to (Y/N), but you receive no answer to your calls.

You re-focus your mind and move deeper into the darkness of (Y/N)’s mind, still calling for (Y/N) over and over again, but there is still no answer. You try to keep yourself calm down, as your mind begins to play out different options as to why (Y/N) isn’t responding, each option worse than the last.

As you’re about to retract yourself, you hear a noise from the shadows and you turn around to find the source.

“You are not welcome here.” One voice states in a menacing tone; you recognise it immediately as one of the elders’ voice.

“I believe you have it wrong, it is both of you who not be here; you cannot have (Y/N). Neither the Avengers or the Xmen are willing to give her up to you.” You say in a stern voice, keeping your mind focused so they can’t close you out “It would be wise for you two to leave (Y/N)’s body and mind now while you still have a chance.”

“Look how this midguardian speaks to us, you would think this fool would know when he’s been beaten.” The second elder states with malice, in his voice; both elders step out from the shadows and their appearance catches you off guard.

They’re both so much bigger and more solid than before ‘(Y/N) gets weaker, as they get stronger.’ You ponder to yourself.

“Where is (Y/N)? I know you haven’t killed her.” You say with false confidence, hopefully, they wouldn’t catch on to your bluff.

“What makes you think she is still alive?” the first elders states with a laugh “Her last act of defiance cost her dearly.”

“You still need her, she would never give up without a fight; where have you imprisoned her?” you ask with a more forceful tone.

Both of the elders’ look at you with a humorous look on their faces; like they’re having the time of their lives before the second elder decides to speak up.

“Well if you believe wholeheartedly that (Y/N) is still alive, why don’t you try and find her; we’ll give you ‘A minute’ so to speak.” The second elder states with a smirk on his face in an amused tone; as he gestures to the large open space of the mind around you.

“Do I have your word, that you’ll let me look without trying to stop me?” you ask in a serious tone.

“Oh, of course, mortal; you may search to your heart’s content, but you will only have one Earth minute, then we shall make you leave this mind.” The first elders state in an earnest tone.

As soon as the elders finish speaking, you make a mad dash through each little area trying to find (Y/N), shouting for her but never getting a response. You feel disheartened as the more you search, the less sign of (Y/N) you find, but then you feel a small flicker of something; a barely coherent thought.

“(Y/N).” you shout once more and more closely to the flickering feeling, you see the original prison you had confided the elders’ to.

You can see a small hole in the prison and you peer through and what you see horrifies you, but as you try to use your powers to break apart the prison.

“Times up.” One of the elders’ voices states and you are telepathically thrown out of (Y/N)’s mind space and back to your own.

Opening your eyes slowly, you feel a shiver rip through your body ‘This isn’t good at all.’ You think to yourself.

Removing your hands from (Y/N)’s temples, you gently place your hand on her forehead before you start wheeling yourself towards the door.

Dr. Banner opens the door for you and you leave the room, and Dr. Banner closes the door.

“So what’s the verdict, Professor?” Logan immediately pipes up.

Everyone looks from Logan to the Professor, and you can sense everyone’s anxiety at what you might say.

“As of right now, it’s not good at all.” You start explaining “(Y/N)’s barely alive, she has no control of her mind anymore, the elders’ haven’t killed her yet, but they’re pretty close.”

You watch as each person takes in what you’ve explained, from your examination.

“The best option I think would be to go forward with the blood transfusion from both Captain Rogers and Sergeant Barnes; after a few hours I’ll try going back in again to see if the transfusion has made a difference.” You state in a placid tone, keeping eye contact with Dr. Banner and Tony.

“Professor, you can’t be serious.” Remy states with wide eyes; clearly in shock over what you recommended.

“Remy, right now; there is no other option. Dr. Banner’s testing has proven to be able to get the elders’ blood out of (Y/N)’s body, if by some miracle that will give her a helping hand to get back control of her mind.” You say in a stern tone.

“So, we’re supposed to believe that these two runts are going to be able to save (Y/N)?” Logan states in anger, pointing a finger towards Steve and Bucky.

“I’m afraid so Logan… Right now I need to recommend what is best for (Y/N), along with Dr. Banner and Tony Stark. This is our last chance to save her, so we have to our eggs into one basket.” You say bringing the questions from Logan and Remy to an end.

“Are you both okay with this?” Bruce asks Steve and Bucky.

“Sure as I’ll ever be.” Bucky says with a small smile.

“Ready when you are Dr. Banner.” Steve says, giving Bruce a nod.

Tony gives FRIDAY instructions to have 2 med beds brought up to (Y/N)’s room, so they can set up the equipment for Steve and Bucky start giving blood.

Everyone else is told they can wait outside or head off to their own endeavors until they can be updated on (Y/N)’s condition.

Bruce and Tony get everything setup to start the transfusion, both Steve and Bucky are each lying in a bed, with machines attached to them to motor their body, while they’re giving (Y/N) blood.

You decide to stay outside in the corridor and watch Tony and Bruce work around Steve, Bucky and (Y/N); you can see Logan and Remy out of the corner of your eye, Logan scrounging his face in displeasure and Remy fidgeting to keep his mind busy.

Turning your attention back to (Y/N)’s limp body, and everyone else in the room; it doesn’t take long for the tubes to be connected from Steve and Bucky to (Y/N) and you watch the blood going from both men into (Y/N)’s body.

You slowly begin to relax, at least 20 minutes had gone part when you hear a commotion inside (Y/N)’s room; wheeling yourself inside you see (Y/N)’s eyes open, the look on her face unnatural.

You communicate with Bruce, Tony, Steve, and Bucky to stay in place, since you can make out that it’s the elders’ that have come through, using (Y/N)’s body as a vessel.

“Do you mere mortals believe you can save this one? She is already dead.” the elders’ state with a distorted version of (Y/N)’s voice.

“Then you have nothing to be afraid of, now do you?” you say with a sarcastic tone.

You ever never the type of person to use sarcasm, but in this moment it felt highly appropriate.

Both Logan and Remy came running into the room, but you put your hand up to stop them from getting closer.

“Logan, Remy it’s not her; they’re using her to communicate with us.” You say, keeping your eyes completely fixed on (Y/N)’s form.

“We will rip you all apart, while she watches…” the elders’ voice states, but their monologue is interrupted by fits of coughing that rack (Y/N)’s body.

Everyone watches in shock and horror as black tainted blood is coughed out of (Y/N)’s mouth, Remy, Logan, Steve and Bucky all try to make a move; so you use your telepathy to stop them from moving.

“I’ll make this brief and to the point, don’t touch (Y/N)’s body and don’t listen to a word coming from that mouth; she’s locked so far in her mind that it will take a while for her to gain strength enough to fight back.” You say keeping your eyes locked with the elders’, as they look on with a mixture of fear and interest.

“You don’t know that Professor.” Remy says in an unbelieving voice “She needs us, Logan and me; we can help her.”

“Remy right now you are both hurting her, I asked before I brought you to the med bay to stay outside the room and you have both failed to listen to me.” You say in a stern voice “FRIDAY please ensure the Logan and Remy are taken back to my quarters.”

Remy and Logan know it is useless to fight you on this, so they both stay quiet as FRIDAY’s voice comes over the system.

“Of course, Professor Xavier.” FRIDAY’s voice chimes and begins leading Logan and Remy away from the room towards the elevator.

“Are you still enjoying your stay?” you ask the elders who are still looking at you with malice and anger.

“We will *cough* win… *cough, cough, and cough*” the elders’ say before they’re coughing up more blood tainted blood.

“Dr. Banner, may I suggest a stronger dose of sedatives, to make the transfusion easier for (Y/N)?” you say looking at Dr. Banner.

Dr. Banner looking in his bag and pulls out a blue bottle and pulls out a syringe and needle; placing the needle on the syringe, Dr Banner pierces the cap of the blue bottle with the needle and extracts a sufficient amount that would knock out the elders and give (Y/N) a bit of peace.

A few seconds after Dr. Banner administers the medication into (Y/N)’s system, with the elders’ shouting threats and pitting at Dr. Banner; (Y/N)’s body goes completely limp.

“I need to get these gauntlets on (Y/N)’s body, so the elders can’t use her powers.” Tony says as he produces the gauntlets from a cupboard in the room.

Once the gauntlets are in place you feel a little more relaxed, this was going to be a hell of a story to remember.

“I’m going to check on Logan and Remy if you need me just call; I’ll be back in a few hours to do another examination on (Y/N).” you say wheeling yourself towards the door.

“Thank you for all your help Professor.” Steve says with a small smile on his face.

“It was nothing; she is like a daughter to me; even though she is older.” You say with a smile, making your way to the elevators.

‘I could use a vacation round about now.’ You think to yourself, your body protesting in exhaustion.


	59. Chapter 58

While Steve and Bucky were restraining your body, you watched as Tony ran into the isolation tank and jabbed you with a sedative; as your eyelids closed, you silently prayed that you would die so the elders’ couldn’t take full control you.

What you didn’t bank on was the elders’ appearing from the shadows and beating you to a bloody pulp on the ground covered in blood, cuts, and bruises, that you didn’t even have enough energy to get up from the ground; coughing as you tried to inhale and keep yourself breathing.

You watch as the walls of your prison re-enforce themselves to prevent you from getting out, by the end of it there is a small hole in the wall which gives you a little light, but you can’t even move enough to find out what is going on outside of the prison.

The pain you’re feeling is so excruciating that you just allow your head to hit the ground that is covered with your blood and close your eyes in hopes of everything coming to an end.

\-----

You hear someone calling out your name in the far distance, the voice sounds familiar, but you can’t place it right now; your body feels like lead, so you stay lying down on the ground, hoping that the voice finds you soon.

The voice gets closer and you make an attempt to raise your head in hopes of seeing the person, you’re so relieved when you see the Professor’s face; but your heart is in your throat when you see the Professor’s facial expression as he looks at you, the complete horror and pain makes you cringe.

But before you can even get a word out, you hear the elders say “Time’s up.” And the Professor disappears from your sight.

You try scrambling to your feet screaming “No, Professor, come back... PLEASE!!!”

“You’re a bit late (Y/N).” The elders say to you in a casual tone “He can’t hear you.”

Your body shakes uncontrollably and you fall back to the ground, unable to pick yourself up; your throat tightening, as you try to hold back tears.

“P-Please let m-me go...” you say in a desperate voice, trying again to get yourself up.

“Now, why would we do that (Y/N).” The elders chimed in together “We already gave you a chance, but you chose to fight; now you’ll have to deal with the consequences of your actions.”

The elders’ appear from the shadows again and grab you by your ankles before the scene changes, bright lights blinding you momentarily before you manage to focus your eyes.

You find yourself being strapped to some sort of a medical table; you turn your head to the side and find them hunched over what seemed to be a table, but you can’t see what they’re looking at or what they’re talking about.

Your mind becomes fuzzy and unfocused, and you shake your head in hopes of being yourself back to the current moment; looking at the elders you see them walking towards you with items in their hands.

You squint your eyes at the elders; you can make out knives and scalpels in their hands ‘Oh God...’ you think ‘They’re going to torture me...’ panic rising in your chest and you can’t even break out of the restraints.

‘This isn’t real, this isn’t REAL!’ you keep telling yourself.

“Yes it is (Y/N), after a century of trying to get you back home; will can finally return to our masters and say we have what they have been searching for.” The elders say in a victorious voice.

Pushing against the restraints only serves to make you more tired, what little energy you had is gone and you go slack on the table.

The elders come right up next to you and smile maliciously at you.

“Now, we’re going to show you; why no one has ever survived when we take over their body and mind.” The elders say with a lunatic laugh.

You can’t bring yourself to say anything, so you just clench your jaw and keep eye contact with them.

“Ah, I think she’s scared.” The one elder’s pipes up with a sadistic smile on his face.

“You have nothing to fear (Y/N), unless there are people you’ve killed that were not ready to leave this planet; if you have ended someone’s life before it was meant to end then you’ll have to endure all of their torment and pain, just like they had to.” The second elder says with a broad smile on his face.

Both elders take up positions on either side of you, taking a knife in each of their hands and picking a spot on your body; you can feel your body trembling uncontrollably, with fear.

Closing your eyes and taking a deep breath through your nose, you feel the knives pierce you in your legs and abdomen and you let out a gut wrenching scream, your eyelids shooting open. The elders didn’t stab you shallowly, as you look down at the knives embedded in your skin, you can see the hilt of the knives are nearly touching your skin.

As you’re about to shout profanities at the elders, you begin to feel emotions that are not your own; which confuses you and your eyes go wide as you slowly start to see people from the past.

More accurately, people who you had killed; your body starts to shake violently as your head bombarded by all the thoughts, fears and different emotions of every single person you had ever killed.

You feel like your body and mind is being torn apart, slowly and painfully; for all the years you had lived, you had never felt so much raw emotions and pain.

The elders each lift up a scalpel each and you open your mouth to beg for so kind of mercy, but you never get a chance; as the elders suddenly disappear and you find yourself back inside the prison cell; with the knives still deep in your flesh.

‘Why did they leave so suddenly?’ you ponder, but you feel a little relief as the emotions and pain form past souls starts to fade.

Gently shifting yourself onto your side, you try to remove knives from your legs; it takes a lot of effort and after what seems like forever, you manage to dislodge the knives from your legs. You can hear voices talking and you dig up whatever energy you can muster to crawl over to the wall of the prison to see who was talking.

Looking through the wall you realise that the elders’ are speaking through your body, what they say has you shaking uncontrollably “We will rip you all apart, while she watches…” the elders’ voice states, but their monologue is interrupted and you watch from within the prison as your body convulses with violent coughs.

You can see everyone’s faces turn to shock and horror as black tainted blood is coughed out of your mouth; Remy, Logan, Steve and Bucky all try to make a move towards you and you find yourself shouting for them to stay away from you.

“I’ll make this brief and to the point, don’t touch (Y/N)’s body and don’t listen to a word coming from that mouth; she’s locked so far in her mind that it will take a while for her to gain strength enough to fight back.” The Professor says while he keeps his eyes locked with the elders’.

“You don’t know that Professor.” Remy says in an unbelieving voice “She needs us, Logan and me; we can help her.”

“Remy right now you are both hurting her, I asked before I brought you to the med bay to stay outside the room and you have both failed to listen to me.” The Professor replies in a stern voice “FRIDAY please ensure the Logan and Remy are taken back to my quarters.”

Remy and Logan know it is useless to fight you on this, so they both stay quiet as FRIDAY’s voice comes over the system.

“Of course, Professor Xavier.” FRIDAY’s voice chimes and begins leading Logan and Remy away from the room towards the elevator.

“Are you still enjoying your stay?” the Professor asks the elders.

‘Since when did the Professor antagonise anyone?’ you think to yourself, but you can’t help but smile a little ‘He’s trying to get them riled up to bid me some time, hopefully whatever they’re planning works.’ You pray, as you continue to watch through the eyes of the elders’.

“We will *cough* win… *cough, cough, and cough*” the elders’ say before they’re coughing up more blood tainted blood.

You catch a glimpse of two tubes connected to each of your arms that were restrained to the bed; as the elders’ coughed up more tainted blood and then you see it, each tube was connected to a different person... ‘Steve and Bucky...’ you barely whisper, your eyes going glossy; they were doing what they could to help you.

After you tried to kill yourself and then the elders’ trying to kill them ‘Are those two for real?’ you ponder as you feel your chest ease up a little.

“Dr. Banner, may I suggest a stronger dose of sedatives, to make the transfusion easier for (Y/N)?” Professor Xavier states as he looks at Dr. Banner.

You watch as Bruce prepares the syringe, and for some reason to makes you feel somewhat happy that your body is going to be sedated; there was a strange feeling slowly creeping into you, not a scary feeling more like a feeling of hope and encouragement.

A few seconds after Dr. Banner administers the medication the sedative, you watch as the elders shout threats and spit at Bruce and had has you feeling angry beyond rational thought, but you try to rain in your emotions, hopefully whatever Bruce, Tony and Professor Xavier were planning would help you take back control.

Everything is eerie quiet not, but you’re too afraid of falling asleep in case the elders came back; but you feel like a blanket of comfort is overtaking you and, eventually you give into the sensation and your eyelids close as you drift into unconsciousness.

\--------------------

 

Professor Xavier’s POV

You finally make back to your apartment and find Remy and Logan looking out of the window of your lounge, turning their heads to look at you as you wheel into the apartment.

“How is (Y/N)?” Logan asks, concern etched on his face.

“She’s not doing too well currently.” You say in a tired voice “But Dr Banner and Mr Stark have started the blood transfusion from Captain Rogers and Sergeant Barnes, so hopefully when I do another examination in a few hours; there should be somewhat of a difference.”

“Can she survive this Professor?” Remy asks in a distressed voice “I meant the mental part of it? We all know that physically she is strong.”

“At her current state I don’t believe she can, but I’m still keeping my hopes up on her fighting spirit.” You state in a reassuring manner as you can muster “Though right now, I’m going to lie down for a little bit; the elders’ have gotten stronger and I’ll need all the rest and energy I can get before the next examination; so I can help (Y/N) more.”

“We understand Professor.” Remy and Logan say in unison.

“I want both of you to get some rest as well; there are two spare rooms in this apartment, so have something to eat from the kitchen and get some sleep for the time being.” You say in a kind and gentle voice, as you turn and make your way to your bedroom.

“Yes Professor.” Remy says, and Logan just nods.

Finally you get into bed and feel yourself almost embracing sleep, as your mind shuts down for you to get some much needed rest.

\-----------

 

Reader’s POV

 

You feel someone gently stroking your head and you jolt up from the ground, hissing in pain as the two knives are still embedded in your abdomen.

Your eyes go wide, when you see who it is; the woman who was with Loki when they kidnapped you from your bedroom as a young child.

“I remember you...” you say in a small voice, trying to keep yourself sitting up with your hands on the ground.

“My dear (Y/N), you have grown up to become an amazing person.” The blonde woman says with a kind smile on her face.

“Who are you and how are you here, or am I dead?” you ask in genuine intrigue, checking your surroundings, noticing that you’re still in the prison the elders had put you in.

“My dear, you are still very much alive; but I thought I could quickly speak to you while the elders’ were unfocused from the heavy sedation and also trying to stop the blood transfusion being done to save you.” The blonde woman says with an encouraging voice.

“But how are you here?” you ask, slowly moving your left hand over to one of the knives trying to get a grip on it to pull it out.

“You get right to the heart of the matter just like my son Loki.” The blonde replies with a big smile.

“Your son is Loki and Thor?” you say in a bewildered tone, as your hand drops from the knife.

“Yes, I am. Now we don’t have much time, so I hope you can keep up.” She states with a fond look in her eyes.

You simply nod, as you try again to grab the hilt of the knife.

“I can communicate with you from the afterlife; since the elders opened the link between worlds to torture you earlier, but in their haste to stop an attempt to save you, they left the link open.” The blonde says with a somewhat amused tone “So I’m here to help you as much as I can before, I have to go back.”

You stop working the knife to give the blonde all your attention.

“How much do you know about your powers, my dear?”

You look at the Blonde woman, before you decide to answer the question “I can predict when someone I know is going to die and I can kill people by simply touching them.” You say in an uncomfortable voice, you had never been a fan of your powers and talking about it just made things worse.

“Oh I see...” the blonde woman looks a little shocked by your answer “So you have not explored your powers any further then?”

You shake your head, as you lower your head and focus on the knife you were busy removing from your abdomen.

“Would you be opposed to me enlightening your mind, so you can see the full extent of your real power?” the Blonde woman asks in a tender and loving voice.

You stop fiddling with the knife again and look at her “Um okay, but could you tell me your name first. I find it highly uncomfortable that you know me, but I don’t even know your name.”

The Blonde gives you a smile and laughs “Oh my dear, I’m so sorry. I got a little carried away about helping you. My name is Frigga Odinson.”

“It’s nice to finally meet you properly Frigga.” You say with a smile.

Frigga moves closer to you and sits down facing you.

“I’ll try and make this quick, since the elders are making their way back to you; I’m using some of my magic to make it harder for them.” Frigga says with a strained smile on her face.

She places both her hands on either side of your head and closes her eyes; you follow Frigga’s lead and close your eyes, waiting for Frigga to enlighten you as to the full extent of your power.

Suddenly you feel yourself being bombarded by an overload of information and you gasp to catch your breath; you had never realised that you could do the things that Frigga was showing you in your mind.

As the images slow down, you open your eyes and look at Frigga with a gentle smile “Thank you for showing me that, I really didn’t realise how much I could do.” You say with friendly tone.

“Well, I’m glad I could be of some use.” Frigga states with a laugh “Now, please make sure you keep tryig to get those knives out. Those knives are stopping the blood transfusion from taking a stronger affect and giving you some power and energy back.” Frigga states in an authorative tone 

“I’ll do my best.” You say with renewed vigour.

“Oh, and (Y/N) one more thing.” Frigga says in a gentle tone “Please could you tell both my son’s that I love them and I’m still watching over both of them?”

“Of course, I will Frigga. I’ll be indebted to you, for what you’ve done to help me.” You say in a small voice, as your throat tightens a little; with unspoken emotions.

“I must go, but hopefully one day, we’ll chat again.” Frigga says with a broad smile, before she disappears altogether.

You find yourself taking a couple of deep breaths and focusing your mind before you start working at taking the knives out, with the thoughts of Steve, Bucky, Tony, Bruce and the Professor working tirelessly to save you; you had to help from your side as much as possible.

Finally after a few minutes you manage to get one of the two knives out and you start working faster, as you feel more energy flowing through you; giving you strength.

As you’re the last knife is almost half way out, you don’t see the elders appear from the shadows and kick your hands aside, causing the knife to get embedded at an angle ‘Shit not now.’ You think to yourself.

“Did you think that you could stop us from winning?” the elders’ shouted at you, as they assaulted you; cowering down, you try to protect yourself from the multiple hits the elders are dishing out.

Suddenly, there is a bright light and you shield your eyes from the light as you hear the elders shrieking in pain and discomfort.

You feel a hand on your shoulder and flinch away, but the hand holds on tightly and you look up to see the Professor next to you and you give him a wide-grin, shifting to hug him; but the pull of the knife makes you stop.

“(Y/N) let me help you.” The Professor says in a concerned voice.

“If you could hold the elders off for a bit, it’ll give me time to get this knife out.” You say, letting the Professor see into your mind; to show what the knife was used for.

“Of course.” The Professor says in a kind tone and turns his full attention onto the elders, who are trying to get back to you.

You watch for a few seconds as the Professor stops the elders using mind barriers and such; halting them in their tracks.

Looking down at the last knife that is still embedded, you take a deep breath and think of the sacrifice that Bucky and Steve are making to save you; you grab a hold of the knife and pull with whatever strength you manage to amass and pull out the knife.

You scream out loud, as you feel the link with the afterlife end and the elders shout profanities and insults at Professor Xavier.

You slowly get up and manage to make your way over to the Professor.

“Professor, you know I would never ask you this if I didn’t have any other choice.” You say in a timid voice.

The Professor reads your thoughts and smiles “(Y/N), it’s okay; you mean more to me and everyone else waiting for you, than me using my powers to hold these animals in place while you kill a part of them.”

“Thank you Professor.” You say and focus your mind, making two swords materialise in your hands.

You walk slowly making sure to balance yourself right, as you reach the elders; they look livid. Placing the one sword blade into the ground, you grasp the other sword with both hands and pierce it right through the first elder’s heart, watching as the body convulsed and disintegrated into nothing.

Grabbing a hold of the second sword, you look at the second elder as you place both hands on the hilt of the sword “I’m taking back my mind and my body you bastards.” You shout out before you chop off the second elder’s head and watch the body collapse to the ground and turn to dust.

Turning back to the Professor, you smile and make your way back and collapse to your knees feeling tired from the exertion.

“(Y/N), do you think you’ll be able to wake up as yourself?” Professor Xavier asks you with a smile “I think a couple of people would really like to speak to you.”

You can’t bring yourself to speak, so you simply nod and let the Professor read your mind ‘Thank you so much Professor, I’m just worried the elders’ will take control again while I’m conscious.’

“I’ll wait for you to wake up first and then I’ll leave your mind, once you’re conscious I’ll keep an eye out for their presence.” The Professor says with a fatherly smile.

Gently you feel your body shift slightly; it feels strange having some form of control of yourself again; physically and mentally. As your eyelids flutter open and you realise you’re lying on your side, your throat feel raw and your whole body aches with a horrible pain deep in your muscles.

“(Y/N)?” Bucky asks in a whisper.

You were lying in the bed facing Bucky; slowly you make eye contact and give him a small smile.

“Hi Bucky.” You say in a murmur, your voice sounding husky and hoarse “How come I’m lying on my side?”

Bucky looks at you, with some discomfort “Well once you were sedated your body was convulsing and black blood was still coming out of your mouth; so Tony and Bruce placed you on your side with the restraints being strengthened to hold you in case the elders took over again.”

“Oh...” you say ‘How could I forget about the blood being coughed out?’ you think to yourself, calling yourself an idiot for forgetting.

You notice that both tubes are still attached, so you slowly shift a little in the bed to look over your shoulder and you find Steve sleeping; hearing him snore lightly makes you laugh.

“So how long have you guys been transfusing blood into my body?” you ask with a tender voice, looking back at Bucky.

“We’ve been at it, for about 4 and half hours; give or take.” Bucky says with a broad smile on his face, his eyes lighting up as he meets your gaze.

“What?!” you almost shout “Are you both crazy, you could both kill yourselves at this rate.” Your face filled with horror and distress.

Just then you hear a cough and look towards the door, there stands Sam, Clint and Bruce; carrying multiple bags or what smells like food.

“Actually (Y/N), with Bucky and Steve’s serum in their blood; they can handle it. As long as they’re getting a continual intake of food and liquids, they’ll be perfectly fine.” Bruce says with a smile, making his way over to you.

Clint and Sam both say hi, before walking over to Steve’s bed to wake him up; as you keep looking at Bruce.

“Hi guys.” You say “Any chance you could let me sit up in bed?” you ask Bruce with a smile.

“Sure we can, just Sam and Clint a few minutes to get Bucky and Steve sorted with food and we’ll get you a bit more comfortable.” Bruce says with contented look on his face.

Bruce makes his way over to your bed and checks the tubes and the drip that was added while you were asleep, seemly to be happy with everything; he looks at you “So how are you feeling?”

“Well besides crazy aliens trying to kill me, my body feeling like it’s been run over multiple time, I think I’m feeling somewhat okay for now.” You answer with an amused look.

“You sound little more like yourself (Y/N).” Bucky says with big smile, as Clint brings him a bunch of food and drinks.

“Is (Y/N) awake?!” you hear Steve ask from his bed.

“Yes I am Steve.” You say, feeling your throat close a bit; causing you to cough.

Bruce grabs a kidney dish and places it by your mouth, as more coughs rack your body and you feel liquid coming out with each cough.

‘Argh, the elders’ blood tastes disgusting.’ You think to yourself, as you spit the reminiscence of leftover elders’ blood into the dish; before you look at Bruce.

Bruce just gives you a smile and wipes your face, where some of the blood splattered and cleans your mouth.

Sam and Clint come over to check on you, so Bruce decides to take this moment to get them to help move you on your bed. After a couple of minutes you’re restrained with each hand attached to either side of the railings on the bed.

The head of the bed is set at an angle with a couple of pillows, so you can lie down but still keep eye contact with people in the room.


	60. Chapter 59

You sit in a comfortable silence, while watching Bucky, Steve, Sam, Clint, and Bruce eating and chatting together; your mind keeps going over what Bruce had explained about Steve and Bucky’s blood getting the elders’ blood out of your system, but there was still the matter of getting rid of their mind control.

The guys laugh and carry on eating their food; Steve and Bucky keep exchanging looks at you, which you notice as move your eyes around the room. After the guys finish eating, Sam and Clint clear up and say goodbye, as they leave the room; Bruce makes his way over to you and checks your vital signs and asks FRIDAY to perform a scan of your body and tells you that he’s to check on Tony, leaving you alone with Bucky and Steve.

Closing your eyelids you take a deep breath and sigh as you exhale, trying to make your body relax; you’re brought out of your thoughts when you hear Steve calling your name.

“(Y/N)?” Steve calls you again; you open your eyelids and meet his gaze.

“Yes Steve?” you say in a gentle tone.

“Are you feeling okay? Do you want me to call Bruce or the Professor?” Steve asks in a hurried voice, concern etched on his face.

You give him a smile and reply “I’m okay, just trying to get my body to relax; which isn’t easy... And no, please don’t call Bruce or the Professor, God knows they need some rest from this disturbing situation.” You say with a huffed laugh, watching Bucky and Steve smile at you.

But soon your laughs turn into coughs and you realise you can’t move your hands to grab the kidney dish, but you panic soon dissipates as Bucky comes rushing over with the tube still connected to his flesh arm and grabs the kidney dish, holding it near your mouth as you cough up more of the elders’ blood.

After a couple of minutes of coughing uncontrollably, Bucky and Steve having rubbed your back to try and help; you collapse back onto the bed in exhaustion, your eyelids closing for a few moments.

You feel a cloth cleaning your face, especially around your mouth; which makes you open your eyelids; you see Steve’s hand gently move over your lips as he cleaned up your face, Bucky brings up his metal hand to your cheek and ghosts his metal digits over your cheek and down your jaw before moving his hand away.

There’s a slight tingle in your abdomen that you can’t explain, and you don’t think that you’re ready to deal with it just yet, but the moment is interrupted when the door to the room slams open and Remy and Logan are standing there, anger fixed on their faces.

“Get away from her, right now.” Remy says, his voice trembling in anger.

Both Steve and Bucky look at you, completely ignoring both Logan and Remy.

“(Y/N) are you okay for now?” Bucky asks with a smile, Steve mirroring that smile as well.

“I think I’m good for now. Thanks, Steve, Bucky.” You say in a grateful tone before you look back at Logan and Remy.

Bucky put down the kidney dish on the table next to your bed and Steve threw the cloth he used to clean your face in the bin; then they both moved back to sit on their respective beds and look between you and Logan and Remy.

“Last time I checked I’m a free woman, so I can let whoever I want near me.” You say in a firm tone “Now what are you both doing here?”

“Cher, we came to see if you were okay.” Remy says in a tender voice, his eyes shining with emotion.

“You know that this would have never happened if you’d just stayed with us, baby.” Logan says in an endearing tone, as he makes his way closer to you; both Steve and Bucky shifting slightly off of their beds.

You make eye contact with Steve and Bucky, shaking your head and watch as they sit on their beds properly again.

You look up at Logan who is at the foot of the bed; Remy moves from beside Logan and sits on the edge of the bed by your feet and places a hand on your foot, gently rubbing circles on your foot over the covers.

“Logan... You and Remy both know that if I’d stayed, you’d both be dead by now.” You say with a sigh, it was like this cycle would never end because Remy and Logan just didn’t want to let you go “Remy please remove your hand from my foot, I’m not comfortable with you touching me.”

“When did my touch become so repulsive to you Cher?” Remy asks; you could hear the hurt in his voice from what you said.

Before you could say anything else, Logan interjects.

“I’m surprised (Y/N), you don’t want Remy to touch and I’m guessing me; though you let these two morons touch you without feeling uncomfortable.” Logan says with utter loathing in his voice, you can see the fire in his eyes.

‘This is not going to end well.’ You think before you decide to speak, you can see both Steve and Bucky shifting slightly; like they’re waiting for Logan or Remy to make a move closer to you.

“Logan, it’s quite simple. I don’t want you and Remy touching because you and I both know that it’s not just in friendly concern; both Steve and Bucky know that I don’t reciprocate their affections beyond friendship and they’re willing to just have the friendship with me.” You say in a calm tone, a neutral expression on your face.

“God damn it (Y/N), just come home and end this madness. Remy and I can handle ourselves, we just want you; well give up being X-man if it means we get you back.” Logan shouts, his temper flaring up; you watch as Remy places a hand on Logan’s shoulder to ground him before he loses self-control.

“You’re missing the point of why I first left Logan…” you say with a heaved breath “I had to leave, because any future where the three of us are together will result in you two dying; it doesn’t matter if you leave the X-men or not, death is all there is for you both, if you’re with me and I’ve told you before that I can’t live with myself.” you wish you could rub your forehead with your hands, but unfortunately your hands were restrained.

Remy just looks on in a hesitant manner, between Logan’s anger and your rational reasoning; he found himself out of his element.

“I’ve survived every single mission we’ve ever been on together; you know I can’t die.” Logan says impatiently, scowling at you.

“Cher just please come home, we’ll work it out.” Remy states in a desperate tone, his eyes sad.

“Remy, Logan, you know that my nightmares were causing me pain for months; watching you both die, even with me trying to remove myself from missions it didn’t make a difference.” You say in an exasperated tone, shaking your head in frustration “The nightmares always come true unless I change the situation completely and the only way for both of you to survive was for me to leave; if I were to return, my nightmares will come back in full force and would stay until you were both dead.”

“Cher, you don’t really mean that, that you’ll never come back to us?” Remy says in a dejected voice, his eyes sparkling with fear.

“Can I be honest with both you?” you ask, looking at Logan and Remy; they nod and stay silent “Did you ever think that maybe the universe was meant to give you someone else, that maybe the right person wasn’t me and you were holding yourself back from real happiness, because you keep chasing after me?”

“(Y/N), we love you; why would we want anyone else?” Remy asks in a curious voice “Are you saying that you truly don’t love us anymore?”

“Just tell us the truth, you’re in love with these two morons; aren’t you (Y/N)!” Logan shouts at you before you could answer Remy’s question.

You feel yourself tense in defence of Logan’s growing aggression; both Steve and Bucky stand up and move closer to you to protect you if need be.

“Steve, Bucky, it’s okay please get into bed Logan and Remy won’t hurt me.” You say in a tender voice “Logan please just stop, I’ve had about enough of this...” you say in a huff “I’m not in love with Steve and/ or Bucky, and the kind of ‘love’ I feel for you and Remy is more like family; not what we use to happy five years ago and that kind of love is enough to keep you both alive, so I can’t give you more than friendship.”

“So just like that, we have to move on?” Logan retorts, fire burning in his eyes.

“Logan, I can’t give you and Remy what you need; I’m sorry, really and truly I am. I climbed off the train a long time ago; you guys just believed I’d jump back on...” taking a deep breath, you carry on explaining “I’m going to say this one last time, please sorry perusing what we had five years ago.

Remy looks like he’s holding back tears and Logan looks about ready to kill Steve and Bucky, as Remy is about to open his mouth; the whole scene is interrupted when Ororo walks through the door.

“Logan, Remy, the Professor is looking for you both.” Ororo says in a restrained tone, her features tight and calculating.

You watch in silence as Logan and Remy both look at you, waiting for you to say something; but you don’t say a single word, you simply look at them with a blank expression on your face; both men sigh and turn around; following Ororo from the room and closing the door behind them.

Your head falls onto the pillow and you close your eyelids, taking deep breaths to try and calm the tension in your body; neither Steve or Bucky say a word to you; you can hear them shifting in their beds and you feel thankful that they aren’t perusing the topic of Remy and Logan.

After a couple of minutes, you open your eyelids and look around the room; Bucky seems to have fallen asleep and Steve is looking at the ceiling like he’s in deep thought.

“A penny for your thoughts?” you say with a kind smile, looking at Steve.

Steve turns his head and meets your gaze with a smile.

“I was just thinking... Well more like hoping that this blood transfusion, helps you. Everyone’s really stressed and anxious about you being sick... The team needs you (Y/N).” Steve stammers, his eyes twinkling as his smile becomes more sheepish as he sits up in his bed.

“Yeah, I know Steve...” you mutter softly “I... I just didn’t want to get anyone hurt, because of my mistakes; seems like I failed miserably.” you state before looking down at your legs.

“(Y/N)?” Steve calls you gently, but you don’t look up.

You hear Steve shift from his bed and make his way over to you, as he sits on the bed near you; you look up slowly and meet his gaze.

“(Y/N) you didn’t hurt anyone, Buck and I are fine; our wounds have mostly healed, so you don’t need to worry about us.” Steve says with his goofy ball smile “You know that Buck and I are two goofballs who can survive almost anything.”

That comment seems to make you laugh and you smile at Steve.

“Could we maybe talk about something else? This topic just seems really depressing right now.” You say shrugging your shoulders.

“Sure (Y/N)...” Steve says and nods “So when were you planning on telling Bucky that he’s your biggest fan?”

“What do you mean, he’s my biggest fan?” you ask without much thought, to Steve’s question.

Steve responds by laughing wholeheartedly and shakes his head “Did you forget that you told the whole team that you’re Tony’s female race car driver?”

“Oh... Oh right... I actually wasn’t planning on telling anyone to be honest. If Nat hadn’t figured it out and pressed the matter that night, I never would have breathed a word of it.” You say nonchalant, feeling your cheeks burn with awkwardness.

“If you were so secretive about the car racing, then how did Tony find out about your driving skills; because I know we’ve never seen you drive anywhere close to that during missions?” Steve says in a surprised tone.

You laugh when you think back to the day that Tony had found out about your ‘unique’ skill.

“Tony is just too noisy for his own good.” You say with a smirk on your face “Damn genius, couldn’t help himself; he had FRIDAY track my movements and used Veronica to show visuals of my location. Then one day when I was at the place I usually race my cars alone, to give the engine a good break in and low and behold Tony arrives and watches as I finish my lap.”

“That sounds like Tony.” Steve states with a laugh “So what did you do?”

“I told him, that I was going to skin him alive.” You say with an evil smile, which makes Steve laugh “Then I asked what exactly he thought he was doing following me around?”

“And what did he say?” Steve asked in fascination, a huge smile plastered on his face.

“Damn smug bastard says...” you start to say before you’re interrupted by someone opening the door.

“I said that I have just the thing if you need to let out some steam while driving; if my memory serves me correct. And yes it was smug, I mean we all know it’s my natural state of being right.” Tony says with his usual charismatic manner, closing the door behind him.

Steve laughs at Tony’s statement “Well that I can believe, what did you think (Y/N) was really up to Tony?”

“Thought she might have had an unhealthy way of relieving stress, but it turns out she has an incredible talent driving cars. So I put her on my payroll, to represent Stark Industries; which works out quite well of us both.” Tony states casually, with the wave of his hand.

Tony makes his way over to your bed and sits down on the foot of the bed, and pets your leg “So how are you holding up?” Tony asks in the concerned tone, as he looks at you.

“I’m okay, just feeling a little off balance at the moment; must be from the blood transfusion I’m sure.” You say as you slump further under the covers.

“Makes sense...” Tony says with a nod “FRIDAY tells me that the savage and gambler came to visit?”

“You went through their files already?” you say with a laugh “Why, am I not surprised?”

Steve looks between you and Tony, with a confused look on his face.

“Well I like to know who I have residing in my compound, and that includes creepy stalking ex-boyfriends, of one of my closest friends.” Tony says with a smile and stands up, and walks over to Bucky’s bed.

You don’t answer Tony straight away, but watch with Steve to see what Tony was going to do; to your horror, Tony starts poking Bucky’s legs repeatedly.

Before you or Steve can say anything, you watch as Bucky suddenly tries to grab Tony’s hand to stop him from poking his legs.

“Well finally Frosty is ‘awake’, now we can carry on talking.” Tony states as he jumps out of Bucky’s reach and rushes over to sit on your bed.

You meet Steve’s gaze and both of you burst out laughing, as Bucky grumbles something about Iron Ass disturbing people’s peace, as he sits up in bed and looks over at the three of you.

“How long were you eavesdropping Buck?” Steve asks in an innocent tone when he finally manages to get his laughter under control.

Bucky doesn’t answer straight away, so you take it upon yourself to answer for him “I’m guessing he’s been listening from the beginning of the conversation Steve.”

Bucky blushes slightly as you look over at him, and that pretty much confirms what you said; which makes Tony laugh at Bucky even more.

“So getting back to the topic at hand; what did the savage and gambler want with you?” Tony asks in concern.

You sigh and take a deep breath “The usual thing; they still want me back.”

“Did you tell them we’d fight them to keep you?” Tony asks with a smile “Or better yet, did you tell them at Steve and Bucky would fight them to keep you.”

You look at Tony and sigh “Can we please don’t talk about it, I know you had FRIDAY recording everything; so you know what happened.” You say with a sly smirk.

“Alright, fine, fine. If that’s how you’re gonna play it sweet cakes.” Tony says with a smile, while he laughs “So how are you feeling, got any feeling back in your legs yet?”

“Nope, I still can’t feel my legs yet; but I’m starting to feel a little better.” You say returning Tony’s smile.

“Well, at least we know that these two 40’s boys can fix you right up.” Tony says in jest, as you and Tony laugh; the fun is cut short again by you coughing again.

Bucky comes rushing to help, as Tony grabs the kidney dish and places by your mouth; Steve gets a wet wipe ready to clean you up, Bucky hesitantly places his metal hand behind your back and rubs gentle circles as you cough up a numerous amount of elder blood again.

By the time you finally manage to get your coughing under control, you feel exhausted to your limit; your eyelids are heavy and you’re sweating profusely.

Tony, Steve and Bucky look worried; as they look at each other.

“FRIDAY please ask Bruce to bring through a sedative for (Y/N) to rest and get Professor Xavier here to examine (Y/N) again.” Tony says in a concerned voice.

“Tony, I’ll be okay. I just need to close my eyes to for a while.” You say in a lethargic tone, Bucky is holding your head up with his metal hand, as Steve wipes your face clean.

Tony places the kidney dish down and looks at you “(Y/N), we’re not taking any chances; right now you don’t get a say in this. Especially after you hid this from the team, so forgive me for speaking this but shut it before I ask Steve and Bucky to kiss you.”

You think that Tony is only joking about getting Steve and Bucky to kiss you, but sometimes you have to wonder when to take what Tony says literally or figuratively.

“No it’s okay; I don’t want to risk the elders taking control and doing something crazy to you guys.” You say with a small smile.

Steve finishes cleaning you up and throws the wipe in the bin and tenderly places his you’re your shoulder and gives you an encouraging smile.

While Bucky lays your head gently on the pillow and presses his metal digits against your neck, slowly moving up to your jaw and then your cheekbones and eventually your forehead; trying to cool your skin.

But the moment turns embarrassing for you when you accidentally let a tiny moan escape your lips, which catches everyone’s attention and causes you blush.

“Sorry.” You say, not making eye contact with him.

“It’s okay (Y/N), at least I got you to moan at least once.” Bucky states with a laugh, which makes you, blush more; but you can’t help but smile as you look up at Bucky.

As you’re about to say something snarky to Bucky, but the door opens and you watch as Professor Xavier and Bruce walk in and closed the door behind them.

Bruce looks on at the scene in front of him “Um… Are we interrupting something?” Bruce asks somewhat embarrassed.

“No Brucie, if you and the Professor had walked in any later, I think we might have heard (Y/N) purr in delight.” Tony says with a smirk, making eye contact with you.

“That was so uncalled for you brat.” You say in a disgruntled voice, as you stare holes into Tony.

“I’m not even going to ask.” Bruce says with an exasperated voice; as he proceeds to ask FRIDAY for a full body scan.

“Sometimes it’s best not to enquire.” The Professor says to Bruce in a kind tone, though he is trying to hide a smile at the same time.

You stare at the Professor with suspicious eyes, but he simply gives you a big smile and makes his way over to your bed.

“(Y/N) may I start the examination of your mind, while FRIDAY runs the scans?” the Professor asks with a gentle voice.

“Of course you can.” You say in a somewhat content voice.

“Alright then, close your eyes for me and try to relax.” Professor Xavier says, giving you a simple nod and a kind smile.

You close your eyelids and try to release any tension you’re feeling in your body, or at least what you can feel of your body.

Keeping your mind clear as possible, you watch as the Professor makes his way through your mind; examining all the different areas within your mind, as you watch from a distance.

After a while, you hear the Professor telling you to open your eyes; which you do and you find Steve, Bucky, Tony, and Bruce looking at you.

“So, what’s the verdict, Professor?” Tony asks with an inquisitive voice.

“From the looks of things the elders’ seem to be preparing for something big; if my assessments and guess are correct, they’re going to try one more time to take full control of (Y/N)’s body.” The Professor says with a minor frown “Dr. Banner, what have the scans revealed?”

“Well, (Y/N)’s body seems to be expelling the elders’ blood from its system; within a few hours I believe that all the blood should be out of (Y/N)’s system completely.” Bruce says with a confident voice and a real smile that you hadn’t seen in quite a few days.

“(Y/N), when was the last time you focused, using the meditation I showed you?” Professor Xavier asks you curiously.

“Um, I think I used the technic about a month ago. Is it wise to use that method, especially with the elders’ holding themselves up in my mind?” you ask in apprehension.

“I’ll prepare the barriers and your protected space to focus and sort your energy to make your last stand with them. It’ll have to be perfectly timed, I’ll communicate with you telepathically so you can make your last stand as the last of the blood transfusion happens; which should weaken them completely and allow your body expel all of their blood.” The Professor states in a calm and collected tone.

“I think that I’d like to be sedated now, so I can do my meditation preparation; I’ll need all the time I can get to be ready.” You say in a somewhat demanding voice.

“(Y/N) do you need any help?” Steve asks in a concerned voice, his brow furrowed with worry.

“Steve I’m going to be okay, you have to believe that.” You say in a caring and warm tone “Professor when the final stand is going to happen, let them get an inside view of the fight so they can see how I’m doing.” You say with a sure voice, giving the Professor a tender smile.

‘Professor, I may need you to ask Tony to remove the bracelets from my wrists; just in case I need my powers.’ You think in your mind, hoping the Professor is listening.

The Professor simply gives you a nod and a smile and asks Tony and Bruce to lower the top half of the bed so you’re lying flat on your back, and Bruce gets the sedate injection ready to give you.

Bucky stands over you and looks you in the eyes “(Y/N), I know you can do anything; we’ll be right here rooting for you.” He says with his ever charming smile, giving you goose bumps, as a shiver rushes through your body.

“Thanks, Bucky.” You say with a smile.

Bruce walks up to your bed side and gives you a small nod and proceeds to inject the sedative into your drip line, you immediately feel dizzy as sleep overtakes your mind; and as soon as your eyelids close, your mind awakens and you see the Professor already waiting for you.

“Alright, I’ll prepare the barriers and everything; I just need you to find a spot you want to work with.” The Professor says in a reassuring tone.

Looking around you find a spot that you feel most at peace with, and you settle yourself on the ground and begin to focus on meditating as you were first trained to do many years ago; using the Professor’s steps to ready yourself for the elders.

You can sense the Professor keeping an eye on you, but he doesn’t come any closer and slowly withdraws from your mind, once he’s done his part; leaving you to ready yourself for what is to come.


	61. Chapter 60

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, everyone, who has commented and given kudos, I really appreciate the responses :)

Professor Xavier’s POV

Once you had done everything to the best of your abilities to secure (Y/N)’s mind, as she prepares to fight the elders’ one last time; you gently leave her mind.

As you open your eyelids, you watch as the rest of the men in the room look expectantly at you.

“Is (Y/N) okay Professor Xavier?” Steve asks in a worried tone.

“As of right now, (Y/N) is placing your mind completely into a comatose state that will enable her to completely focus in her meditation; which should increase her chances of the defeating the elders, while her body tries to expel the remainder of their blood out.” You say in a calm and patient tone.

“What, hold up a minute? You mean to tell me that (Y/N) is putting herself into a coma?!” Bucky almost shouts in frustration.

“Sergeant Barnes I understand that it sounds extremely terrible, but believe me when I say she has perfected her meditation in a way that would take us many lifetimes. She knows what is she doing, I know that hearing the word ‘coma’ doesn’t in still confidence; but she will be okay and I’ll be right here keeping a close eye on her progress.” You state in an endearing voice, hoping it was enough to make Sergeant Barnes feel at peace.

“Professor, have you seen her use this technique successfully before?” Bruce asks with a curious tone.

“Yes, I have; not in the same kind of situation.” You say, thinking if you should share this piece of information with them; after a few moments you decide that it would be best to be open with them “The last time she placed herself in a coma induced meditation over a decade ago, when she had to fight Logan; after he had been brainwashed, she mentally and physically prepared herself to bring him back to civilisation after he went AWOL.”

“This is quite an intriguing case, for a person to place themselves so deep into meditation that they go comatose is truly amazing.” Bruce says in complete awe “FRIDAY please can we get a full body scan and a separate scan of all (Y/N)’s brain activity.”

“So Professor X, when are we going to watch the final show down between (Y/N) and the elders?” Tony says with a charismatic smile.

“Tony.” Captain Rogers and Sergeant Barnes state with annoyance.

“What I just want to know, so I’m ready to watch her kick those assholes butt.” Tony states with a wholehearted grin.

“Count on you to find the joy and fun in a fight that could literally mean the end of (Y/N).” Sergeant Barnes says in exasperation.

“Alright, fine I’ll leave you two lovesick puppies. Someone needs to tell the team what’s going on.” Tony says with a laugh, running out the door before a kidney dish is thrown at his head.

You watch Captain Rogers and Sergeant Barnes sit back on their respective beds, moving your eyes over to Dr Banner who is looking over the scans that the system AI had done.

“I think it would be best to place (Y/N) on her side so she doesn’t choke.” Dr Banner states while he looks at the scans “According to these scans; there is still elder blood being forced out by the serum, so we need to make sure we can get that blood out of her mouth quickly.”

You back away from (Y/N)’s bed in your wheelchair, giving the three men room to work; as they gently turn (Y/N) onto her side. It fills your heart with happiness to know that (Y/N) picked a good group of people to be her family after she ran out on her life at the school.

“Okay, I think she’ll be okay like this. I’m going to pull up a chair and keep watch to make sure that (Y/N) doesn’t choke.” Dr Banner says with a small smile and a nod, as he walks over to the entrance of the room and picks up a chair and brings it over to (Y/N)’s bed; making sure to sit close to her head.

“Professor Xavier, Mr Stark requested a few minutes of your time; if you could please proceed to the lab.” FRIDAY’s voice comes over the system.

“Of, course FRIDAY, I will be there shortly.” You ask with a smile “If you’ll excuse me gentlemen; I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Everyone gives you a smile and nod, as you make your way out of the room. Making your way to the elevator, you catch sight of Logan and Remy coming towards you.

“Professor, (Y/N)’s scent has changed; please tell me she isn’t going comatose?” Logan asks you with a frown.

“Logan... (Y/N) needs to do this to beat the elders; it’s the best way for her to win and have complete control of herself.” You say in a composed voice.

“You know she could die right.” Logan states in anger, clenching his fists as he looks at you.

“Logan, getting angry isn’t going to help anyone. (Y/N) would never have done this unless she knew she could win, where is your faith in her when she needs it most?” you ask in interest, as you eye both Logan and Remy.

“We do have faith in her Professor, but there is also a high risk of her not waking up ever again.” Remy says in worry, his face mirroring his concern.

“I can see that talking about with you won’t help to ease your worries. (Y/N) has given permission for everyone to view her final battle with the elders in her mind; so when she is ready I will create a telepathic connection, where everyone here will be able to watch her battle.” You say in a somewhat exasperated tone, these two were still finding hard to believe that (Y/N) did not want to return to them.

“Can we go see (Y/N), or have we been banned?” Remy asks in a slightly timid voice.

“No Remy, you and Logan may go see (Y/N); but if you cannot behave yourselves in the Avengers house, then maybe staying outside the room would be more advisable.” You say with a sombre look at both men “I am needed in the lab, so I will see you both when my meeting with Mr Stark.”

“Alright Professor, we’ll wait for you outside (Y/N)’s room.” Remy says in a tranquil tone, with Logan simply giving you a nod, but his face betraying the calm demeanour he wanted to try to exude.

You watch as Remy and Logan make their way to over to the window that looks into (Y/N)’s room; once you are confident that they would wait for you, you turn and get into the elevator when it arrives ‘Let’s see what Tony wants.’ You think to yourself.

\-------------------------

 

Reader’s POV

It had really been a long time since you had to focus this in depth, but it also felt so good to realign your mind and body back to a time where you had better connected with yourself.

You don’t keep track of time as you keep your meditating at the centre of your being, your mantra resonating deep within you.

There is a feeling of shifting happening in your mind, and you can get the fade sense of the elders in your mind ‘They must be breaking through the Professor’s barriers...’ you think ‘Professor, can you hear me?’

‘Yes (Y/N), I am here. Is everything okay?’ the Professor says in a calm and gentle voice.

‘How much time do I have, before the elders have broken through all your barriers?’ you ask in hopes of finishing the meditation before they got to you.

‘You might have an hour or two left before they manage to break free.’ The Professor clarifies for you.

‘How long have I been in meditation state?’ you ask, so you can estimate how much longer you need to be ready.

‘You’ve been in meditation state for around four and a half hours right now.’ The Professor informs you ‘You’re doing really well (Y/N), I’m sure you will have no trouble defeating the elders.’

‘Thank you, Professor, let me wrap this meditation session up; so I can set my mind traps for the elders before they break free.’ You say, a warm feeling taking over your mind.

You feel the Professor’s presence dim from your mind and you continue your meditation; when you feel that you have focused your mind completed, you slowly get up and scout the surrounding area; laying down layer upon layer of defences.

Sensing the Professor returning to your mind you smile ‘Let the show begin.’ You think to yourself.

Using different sized spheres within each other, you create traps that will give you the advantage in battle; the spheres are invisible to everyone but you, the distances between each sphere is small to confuse the elders.

There is a feeling of eyes watching you and you turn around, finally seeing everyone from the Avengers team and Ororo, Remy, Logan and the Professor looking at you; the Professor having connected everyone’s mind so they could speak to you.

‘Hey, guys.’ You say with a smile.

‘Hi (Y/N).’ everyone says in unison, some returning your smile and others with worried looks on their faces.

‘I know everyone wants to help or give advice, but right now I’m going to ask you to stay silent and watch. There’s a reason I survived for so many years and you’ll get to see why with this battle.’ You say with your trademark smirk, that everyone knows.

Everyone gives you a simple nod of acknowledgement, and you return to your defences; focusing all your past fighting experiences into this final battle and after a lot of hard work and strategizing, you’re finally ready.

You have enough time to focus on all the weapons you’ve ever used in your life and mentally organise them for summoning during battle.

It doesn’t take long for you to start feeling the elders’ presence, and the noise you could make out meant they clearly were not happy at all.

‘Professor, please disconnect everyone’s mind from me please; I don’t want the elders to hurt anyone.’ You say in a serious tone, as you take deep controlled breaths to keep calm; everything was now a tactical battle.

The Professor doesn’t respond, but you can no longer sense everyone; just the Professor, which means that he, was projecting into everyone’s mind, what he could see within my mind.

Suddenly everything goes black and you are surrounded by a superior power.

“Did you really think your old fool could keep us trapped forever?” One of the elders states in a venomous tone, from the shadows.

“No, not actually; but it sure as hell gave me time to think about what I was going to do once you were free.” You say with a smirk.

“You’re very cocky for a being that was brought down to her knees, by us.” The second elder says with deadly tone.

“I’ll admit that I underestimated you before, what I’m not taking any chances anymore; now you both die.” You state in a matter of fact voice, you smile growing wider with your confidence.

“Then it’s about time you finally lost everyone you love and cherish, you stupid child.” The first elder exclaims in fury.

You summon flash bombs from your weapons and throw them down, creating a blinding light in the middle of the darkness that the elders created.

Your eyes adjust quickly as you see them both blinded from the light, summoning three throwing knives in each hand, you throw them with such intensity; that the knives are embedded into the gut and hamstrings of the each elder, causing them to scream in pain as blood starts to leak out of the wounds that the knives caused.

Summoning your katana swords, you waiting for the elders’ vision to clear; you needed to place yourself in the centre of your defensive spheres before you could activate the defences.

The elders’ vision finally clears and they charge at you summoning their fighting blades; but you jump up and flip over them landing behind them and slicing at both of their backs, making them cringe in pain as more blood drips from them.

In their rage they turn and viciously try to attack you, you keep dodging and ducking every blow the elders try to land on you; their confidence increasing as they force you further back.

However, in their distraction of trying to kill you, they haven’t noticed the change in your demeanour; but what they do notice is you stabbing your swords into the ground, kneeling on the ground and placing your hands flat on the ground as you smile up at them.

“You’re fucked now, you sick bastards.” You say with such an intense look on your face, that the elders are briefly shocked that you had a hidden trick up your sleeve.

But soon their confidence is back and they laugh “This child thinks she can scare us.” The second elder says with a mocking smile, happily swinging his sword arm as if loosening his muscles.

“Actually, you both are fucked; but since you don’t believe me, why don’t you just find out for yourselves.” You retort with a laugh, getting up from your knelt position, grabbing your swords out of the ground; taking your attacking stance.

The elders’ eye you suspiciously, they look at each other before they both nod before lunging forward to attack you; but the multiple spheres activate and the first elder begins to slow down as if time has slowed down completely and the second elder feet get stuck in the ground.

The shock is evident on their faces as you charge forward, swords ready for the confrontation; you look at the first elder with a smile as you embed the katana blade into his sternum before you twist the blade and pull it out and move away side stepping the swing of the second elder's blade.

Grabbing the back of the second elder's sword arm, you dislocate the shoulder and break the arm at the elbow; making the elder scream in excruciating pain.

The first elder manages to get out of that specific sphere of defence and runs at you with all his strength trying to embed his blade into your sternum.

However, you block his attack by crossing your swords and lifting his blade up above his head and in his distraction, you kick him in the kneecap causing him to fall to the ground with a loud grunt.

Stomping your feet on the first elder's hand, you break all the fingers of his hand that holds his blade; you kick the blade away and look the elder in the eyes before you drive your sword through his heart and use your second sword to cut his head off.

Watching the dead elder’s body disintegrate, you almost miss the second elder creeping up on you; though this time you were better prepared, compared to when that trick had first worked and put you in this current situation.

Suddenly the elder’s blade falls from his other arm “What sorcery is this!” the elder demands in anger.

“It’s not sorcery, it's mental strength and your time is about up.” You say with a merciless laugh, this current sphere was your favourite, since your enemies had to fight hand-to-hand combat.

“So you would kill an unarmed person.” The elder says with a smirk.

You make a split second decision and drop your katana sword and lunge at the elder, punching him square in the face.

“I’m no coward you piece of shit; I have more honour than your whole disgusting race.” You shout at the elder, as you continue with a series of punches and kicks; which make contact with the elder nearly every time, as the elder mostly blocks and defends himself.

At some point, the elder thinks he’s had found an opening to attack you, but all it got him was you grabbing the knife in his gut and twisting it, making him jump back hissing in pain.

As you both clash with each other blocking each other’s attacks, you use a moment of weakness when the elder winces in pain; and swipe his legs out from under him.

In the moment he tries to gather himself off of the ground, you get behind him and put the elder in a headlock; his one hand coming up to try and pry your arms away from him, but your grip gets tighter and the elder slowly loses consciousness.

Wrapping your legs around the elder’s body, you tighten the grip of your arms around his neck and pull until you hear the unnatural click of the spine disconnecting from the skull; the elder’s body going completely limp in your grip.

Disentangling yourself from the elder’s body you walk over to grab your katana sword, placing both hands on the hilt you swing the blade down with all your might, cutting off his head.

You smile in a victorious manner, finally, you were free from the elders; you had won and you could carry on with your life.

All of a sudden, you sense multiple presences, turning around you find everyone there smiling at you and cheering your success; but it is short lived when you feel somewhat unsteady.

‘Professor gets everyone out of here, my mind needs time to recuperate.’ You think in distress because you don’t want anyone to get hurt inside your mind.

You watch as everyone looks worried, but before anyone can say anything, they are disconnected from your mind immediately.

‘Will you be okay (Y/N)?’ the Professor asks in concern.

‘I’ll be okay; I just need some time to settle my mind after this battle.’ You say in a tired voice, it has been too long since you really meditated; so your mind was ready to shut down.

You feel the Professor’s presence leave your mind and you allow your mind to be taken over by a deep sleep.

\----------------

 

Two Week Later

You had been comatose for just over a week and a half, after your battle with the elders; everyone had gone into panic mode, except the Professor and Logan.

Thankfully, after the Professor had explained the reason behind your comatose state and that is was temporary, everyone seemed to calm down a bit. It had been a game of waiting and hoping for the team, as they took shifts watching over you, so you had someone there when you woke up.

It has been a hectic couple of days once you woke up, with Tony and Bruce constantly doing check-ups and blood tests to ensure that you were 100% okay.

At least you could say you got some good sleep, even had a couple of decent dreams too.

“Wake up sleepy head.” You hear a voice; say as you open your eyelids.

“Very funny, ladies.” You say with a smile as you stretch in the medical bay bed.

“So you ready to blow this joint?” Nat says with a smirk, as she makes eye contact with you.

“Hell yeah, I’m ready for my freedom.” You say with a laugh, rubbing your eyelids with the heel of your hands.

You look over at Ororo, Wanda and Nat; who had come with the bag of clothes you asked for.

“Wait, are you sure you don’t want to model that sexy gown out of the medical bay?” Nat asks in a curious tone, trying to hide her devious smile.

You all burst out laughing at Nat’s question.

“Yeah, let me just have a war start between some members of the Avengers and Xmen; over my exposed ass.” You say with a laugh.

“Well, it is an ass worth fighting for.” Ororo retorts with a friendly smile.

“I think maybe we should let (Y/N) change into her clothes, otherwise we’re going to be stuck here most of the day.” Wanda states in a calm and collected voice.

Nat hands you the bag and you quickly get off the bed, you make your way into the bathroom and closed the door to change into your clean underwear, black leggings and a little pink thick high top and pastel pink flat pumps.

Once you walk out, you notice that Ororo is holding an Oreo McFlurry for you to take.

“Ororo, you really are spoiling me.” You say with a wide grin.

“Well you needed a snack and while I am all for healthy eating, I think you really earned this treat.” Ororo responds with a kind smile.

“So where are we headed ladies?” You ask in curiosity.

“Well, most of the team is in the gym, watching a sparring match between Clint, Vision and Logan, Remy.” Nat states in an amused tone, ignoring the looks at Wanda and Ororo are giving her.

“You’re shitting me, right? Since when would Logan and Remy spar with others?” you asked incredulously.

“Well, one of the Avengers stated that Logan and Remy couldn’t beat anyone on the Avengers team.” Ororo states with a huff and shakes her head.

“It was Tony wasn’t it?” you say with a sigh, as you have a spoonful of your ice cream ‘Sometimes Tony just didn’t know when to shut his mouth.’ You ponder to yourself.

Making your way to the door and opening it you turn to the girls “Well let’s go see Remy and Clint get their asses kicked.”

“Why would you say that about Clint and Remy?” Wanda asked out of interest; as everyone makes their way to the elevator.

Ororo looks like she is going to answer, but you get there first.

“Because as far I know they are the two weaker once out of the four men.” You say heaping another spoonful of ice cream into your mouth.

The elevator doors open and Bruce steps out.

“Oh, I was just coming to see if you had been discharged.” Bruce says in a friendly voice, giving you a big smile.

“Brucie, we’re heading to the gym; don’t you want to join us?” Nat asks ever so sweetly, her signature-winning smile, makes Bruce blush.

“Um… Yeah, sure I can.” Bruce stammers, as Nat link their arms together and everyone piles into the elevator.

Once the elevator arrives at the correct floor, everyone steps out and heads for the gym doors.

As you walk in this eating your ice cream, you notice all the other Avengers watching the match between Vision, Clint and Logan, Remy.

You really cannot help but smile, as everyone is so focused that no one registers that you guys just stepped into the room.

What you don’t expect is to be blindsided by a huge brute of a Demi-god; Thor lifts you right off the ground into a bone crunching hug, you practically scream as your ice cream falls towards the floor, but you stop yourself as you see Loki saving the ice cream for you.

“Thanks, Loki.” You say with a smile, as you return Thor’s embrace “Don’t tell me you missed me that much Thor?”

“(Y/N) I have missed you, truly Loki and I are happy for your recovery.” Thor says with a bright smile.

Once Thor puts you down, you notice that everyone has stopped watching the match and they have come over to see you.

Loki hands your ice cream to Thor and gives you a tight hug and whispers in your ear “I’m sorry we didn’t make it back in time; we tried everything to find a cure but were unsuccessful. I thank the Gods that you made it through and are well, even if it was mid-guardian science that saved you.”

“It’s okay Loki, at least I’m okay and I think you still need to learn how to throw knives; so how about another session?” you say with a grin, as you make eye contact with Loki and he laughs.

“Of course (Y/N), I think I would be honoured.” Loki states with a smile.

As you, both turn to the group, Thor hands you back your ice cream and you notice some of it is missing.

“Really Thor… Did you have to steal my ice cream, especially after I nearly died?” you say in a joking tone.

Loki waves his hand and your ice cream container filled to the brim with more ice cream, you look over at the God of Mischief and laugh; causing everyone else to join in, surprisingly even Logan and Remy are laughing as well.

“Thor, you do realise that Loki saved your ass right?” you say with a smirk.

“Well isn’t that what siblings are for?” Thor says with a cheeky smile.

“I might just have to kick your ass in a sparring match, to teach you a lesson Thor?” you jester with a laugh spooning ice cream into your mouth.

“Hey, I thought we were watching a match already?” Tony complains, his lip practically pouting.

“Well if the Avengers had stayed on the mat, that matches would have still been going on.” Logan snaps with a smirk.

“Well then, let’s get to it.” Clint says with a smile “I’m ready to kick both your asses.” He states with a smirk while pointing at Logan and Remy.

“Yeah… Yeah hatchling, keep chirping.” Logan states with a sneer.

Everyone takes up their places off the mat as the four men head back onto the mat and take their battle stances.

You find yourself contented with your ice cream, while you watch the match unfold and cannot help but anticipate each person’s next move. And you’re not disappointed, as you manage to correctly guess each move.

Once you finish your ice cream, you watch as the match comes to an end in a tie; Logan and Vision are left standing and Remy and Clint are out cold.

Sam and Bruce take Clint up to the medical bay and Logan manages to carry Remy by himself, as he follows them out of the gym.

“So who’s up for pizza and movies?” Tony pipes up, rubbing his hands together.

Everyone seems to agree with Tony’s plans, as everyone makes their way out of the gym and heads for the common room.

It’s good to finally be able to spend time with the team, but what really hits home for you is that you won’t take it for granted anymore.


	62. Chapter 61

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry guys, for posting late.
> 
> Between life, work and preparing for my first powerlifting comp; my head has been spinning.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter, I'm hoping to do the next chapter from other POV's.

Five Weeks Later

 

Weeks had past and you made a full recovery, mentally and physically thanks to the serum in Steve and Bucky’s body; Tony had given you your binding rings back, which you had put back on a few days after you were discharged from the medical bay.

Today was a perfect day to just relax and enjoy nature, so you left your binding rings in your apartment, bypassed the kitchen and didn’t have breakfast and headed out to your secret spot in the forest.

Once you got to your spot, you sat down and spent some time playing with the wild animals; eventually feeling a little tired, you decided to drift off for a little while; getting a little shut eye.

“(Y/N)?... (Y/N)?...” you slowly open your eyelids, and see some of the wild animals lying on you and next you, as you hear two voices calling your name repeatedly.

You shift slightly and sit up, and the animals move to accommodate your change of position on the grass; there’s a bit of ruffling from the bushes not far from your secret spot in the forest, and the animals become somewhat tense with anticipation.

Looking over at the bushes, you smile as you see Bucky and Steve coming through the bushes as they make their way over to you.

“Have you been here all morning?” Bucky asks in amusement.

“Yeah, I have.” You say with a smile, as you stretched “The slight breeze and the sun, was just perfect and these sweet little fur babies just made me feel extra comfortable.”

Bucky and Steve gently make their way around all the animals hoarding around you, and find a place to sit down with you.

“We thought you might be hungry, so we brought lunch to you.” Steve says with his charming smile, as he places the basket on the ground next to him and opens the lid.

The animals become very curious and make their way closer to Steve, the smells capturing their attention. Steve hands you a wrapped up sandwich and a cool drink and hands Bucky his sandwich and drink as well; but as you look over at Steve you can’t help but smile as you watch the animals eye Steve in hopes of getting something as well.

“I didn’t forget about you guys, don’t worry.” Steve says in good humour, a smile playing on his face as he laughs.

He turns to the basket and pulls out containers, and you find yourself abandoning your food and watching, as Steve opens the containers; some with seeds others with chopped up pieces of fruit, fresh cut up vegetables and a container with different nuts.

All the animals, seems to approach with little caution, wanting to get some food; your favourite squirrel is the first one to place his hands on Steve’s knee, as Steve gives the squirrel a nut and it grabs in delight, placing it in its mouth and running off to eat it away from the other animals.

Suddenly Steve is bombarded with birds, squirrels, rabbits and other wild life that practically run him over to get to the food; leaving you and Bucky laughing so much until you’re both crying.

Steve just shakes his head and calmly, takes up his sandwich and takes the sandwich wrapper off; taking a big bite he looks at you with a smile.

“Thanks for lunch Steve.” You say with a smile, trying to stop yourself from laughing; as your favourite squirrel comes back and sits on Steve’s leg and looks at him intently.

Bucky who had been watching breaks off a small piece of his sandwich and offers it to the squirrel; the squirrel grabs the offered food and scurries off to try it out.

You had been watching with avid fascination, and when Bucky meets your eyes, he simply shrugs his shoulders and gives you a sweet smile.

‘I wonder if that smile is how he used to smile, before Hydra and before the war?’ you think to yourself.

Taking your sandwich, you un-wrap a part of the sandwich and take a bite; it is so delicious, the turkey is so tender and full of flavour, the lettuce is crisp and crunchy, the tomato is juicy; you find yourself enjoying the sandwich so much, that any conversation that would have been had is pushed to a later stage.

Once you finished your sandwich, Steve holds his hand to take the wrapper from you; which you place in the palm of his hand.

“Thank you, Steve, the sandwich was amazing.” You say with a friendly smile.

“It was a team effort.” Steve says giving you a shy smile.

“What this punk means, it that I helped him put together this lunch basket.” Bucky states with a smirk, giving Steve a nudge with his elbow.

The direction of the breeze changes and you catch a whiff of familiar scents on the wind.

“Guys lets head back to the compound.” You say in a concerned tone, getting up and dusting off your jeans.

“What’s wrong (Y/N)?” Bucky says in a worried voice, checking his surroundings for imminent danger.

“It’s Remy and Logan.” You say in an exasperated voice “They’ve been following you.”

“We can handle Logan and Remy.” Bucky says with a mischievous smile.

“Bucky I told you before, that they’re really hard for both of you to defeat.” You say in a weary tone “Let’s just get back to the compound please.”

“Okay (Y/N).” Steve says in a gentle tone, as he gathers up the containers the animals had been eating from; placing them back in the basket and closing it.

All three of you stand up and dust your clothes off and head back to the compound, making back to the kitchen before Logan and Remy walk in looking irritated.

“(Y/N), Remy and I need to talk.” Logan states in a harsh tone.

“Why don’t you two back off and leave (Y/N) alone, clearly she’s not interested in talking to you both about the same topic; yet again.” Bucky says in a stern voice.

“I would back off monami, we not playing anymore.” Remy says in a serious voice, as he places his hands in his pockets.

You immediately realise what Remy and Logan are willing to do right now, inside the Avengers compound.

Can you guys, stop trying to have a peeing contest.” You say in frustration “What do you want to talk about Logan?”

Bucky and Steve look at you in concern, but you lift up your hand signalling for them to stay out of the conversation; so they both set out to clean up the picnic basket, making sure to stay near in case something happened.

“Cher, you need to come home with us.” Remy states in a solemn tone.

“Really, you’re both going to bring this up again.” You almost shout in frustration “Why can’t you both accept things the way they are?”

“Because we belong together, that’s why.” Logan states in annoyance “We changed our own lives to make you happy, and you turn around and leave us; because of a premonition…”

Logan is now pacing in the kitchen, which makes both Steve and Bucky feel tense.

“Cher, maybe we can discuss this in a more private setting?” Remy tries to keep the situation calm.

“Remy, we can’t take this to a private place, because my team don’t trust you both alone with me.” You try to explain in a tranquil voice, hoping that this conversation would end once and for all.

“Remy stop trying to change the topic.” Logan practically growls at Remy “It’s simple (Y/N) come home and stop this stupid quest of try to ‘save’ me and Remy, we’re strong enough to keep ourselves alive.”

This had been a repeated conversation with Remy and Logan over the past three and a half weeks, but it had to end; you were at your wits end about this, there had to be a solution.

“Can’t you both take the hint and see that (Y/N)’s not interested in being with both of you, she is allowed to choose her own path; she’s not some kind of animal that you can command.” Steve chimes in, his Captain America personality shining through.

“Nobody asked you’re opinion bub.” Logan shouts at Steve.

“Logan, don’t shout at my teammates.” You say in an infuriated tone, your hands balled into fists.

“Oh, right I forgot; you left Remy and me for the two fossils. They must be a good fuck in bed; otherwise you would have come home already.” Logan shouts at you, anger written all over his face; as he stands in front of you seething and heaving deep breaths.

“Whoa, there dude; we have never taken (Y/N) to bed.” Bucky says in a somewhat calm tone, as he gestures to Steve and himself.

At this point everyone from the Avengers team, Professor X and Ororo are in the kitchen watching the scene unfold.

Your hands are shaking as your anger increases, you keep eye contact with Logan; neither of you blinking.

“What did you say, you ungrateful asshole.” You say in a severe tone.

“I didn’t stutter (Y/N), you heard me. The only reason you won’t come home to Remy and me, is because you’re fucking the soldier and the captain.” Logan spits at you, sneering at you in the process.

You’re quiet for a couple of minutes before you sigh and shake your head, there’s only one way this is going to end.

“Fine, so you want me to go home with you; that the deal right.” You ask in a strong tone, both Remy and Logan nod.

“You’ll have to fight to take me home.” You state in a neutral tone, composing facial features to match the tone of your voice.

“We’ll fight anyone, anytime… Anywhere you want sweetheart.” Logan states in a confident tone, a smirk playing on his face.

Everyone tries to jump in a protest and of course Steve and Bucky immediately jump into volunteer to fight Logan and Remy.

“Can you all shut it.” You shout at everyone in the kitchen “It’s quite obvious who is going to fight Remy and Logan.”

“So who’s the unfortunate piece of shit that’s going to fight us (Y/N)?” Logan teases you, his smirk becoming broader on his face.

Everyone looks at you, waiting to hear what your answer will; taking a deep breath and meeting Remy and Logan’s gazes you answer.

“You’re both going to fight me.” You say with a straight face; which seems to make Remy and Logan gap at you.

Logan and Remy are about to protest, but you cut them off “You either fight me, or you don’t get to bring up this topic ever again. That’s the only deal right now, no comprises or negotiations.”

Both men look at each other and back at you, you watch as they communicate with each other using their eyes.

“Okay Cher, we’ll fight you and when we win; you come home to us and back to our relationship.” Remy says with a composed voice, giving you a hopeful smile.

“When I win.” You say with a confident tone, pointing your fingers at both men “You will drop this topic; move on with your lives and accept my choice to leave.” You say in a serious tone.

“Fine, deal.” Logan immediately states with a tone of finality.

Bucky pipes up “(Y/N) you can’t be serious, you’ve just healed up from all the chaos of the elders.”

“Bucky, they’re not going to stop until there’s a final resolution and this is the only way.” You say, giving him a neutral look.

“Cher, when do you want to battle us?” Remy asks in a gentle tone, taking a step closer to you; Steve side steps and is blocking off Remy from you.

“Steve its okay, I promise.” You say gently patting his shoulder for him to move out of the way; he turns to look at you, concern written on his face,

“(Y/N), are you absolutely sure; you’ll be okay?” Steve states in a whispered tone.

Before you can answer, you push Steve out of the way and block Remy’s attack that was meant for Steve; everyone watching in total shock.

“Yeah, Steve I think I’ll manage.” You say with a smile “now, since you’re so eager to get the show on the road Remy; I think giving you both 30 minutes to prepare is fair game.”

“That’s more than enough time to plan, so we get you back home Cher.” Remy states in a confident voice, a playful smirk working across his face.

“Alright, if everyone would excuse me; I need to get ready.” You say in a somewhat vague tone, walking out of the kitchen and heading for your apartment.

Once you were locked inside your apartment, you walked over to your bedroom and closed the door behind you.

“FRIDAY please ensure all ventilation shafts leading to my apartment are closed off for the next fifteen minutes.” You say to the AI system.

“Yes, Miss (Y/N).” FRIDAY replies to your request and going silent thereafter.

You make your way over to your walk-in closet, sitting on the floor right at the back where the shelves you have for your shoes are.

Taking off the shoes on the bottom shelf, you remove that specific piece of wood; there is a gap hidden under that shelf where you keep the most important things.

Picking up the box you had hidden there; you place it on your lap and open the lid, your eyes looking at the gun and Adamantium bullet you stole from Stryker sometime after he had shot Logan.

Running your hand over the gun ‘I don’t know if I should use this…’ you think to yourself, your heart constricting at the thought of Logan losing his memories again.

Shame washes over you, at the moment of doubt and weakness; you wipe away a stray tear and place the lid back on the box, putting the box back in your hiding place and putting the piece of wood in place and placing the shoes on the shelf.

‘Well time to suit up, I guess.’ You think to yourself, grabbing your Avengers suit; forgoing the mask that goes with it.

Once you’ve gotten your suit on, you ask FRIDAY to open up the vents leading to your apartment; knowing that Clint would be in the vents to make sure you were okay.

There’s slight noise from the ceiling, which makes you smirk “Clint, you know better than to hide in my vents” you say with a tinge of amusement in your voice.

“How the hell, not even Vision or T’Challa manages to hear me?” you hear Clint mutter in annoyance.

“Come on out already and walk with me to the armoury.” You ask with a sweet smile, trying to hide your sniggering.

After a huff of defeat from Clint, he opens the vent and climbs out; looking you over make sure you’re okay, which makes you laugh at him.

“You know for a youngling, you seem to be trying to be the parent here.” You say with a snigger.

“(Y/N), after everything that happened with the elders, you can’t blame him for wanting to make sure you’re okay.” Clint says in a caring tone, shrugging his shoulder when you raise your eyebrows.

“Clint.” You say, watching as his face takes on a serious expression “Just don’t smother me please.” You state with a laugh, pulling Clint into a hug.

Clint pulls you tighter into his chest, with a laugh; whispering in your ear “I'm trying my best not to do that.”

“Alright, enough of the mushy stuff.” You say in a joking voice “Before Nat finds us and tells us, that this isn’t how spies and assassins behave.”

Clint sniggers and lets you go free from his embrace, both of you making your way out of your apartment; to which you find Steve, Bucky, Nat, Wanda, Vision, Sam, Thor and Loki.

It seems everyone had waited for you outside your apartment, while you were getting ready; the sentiment behind the act from the team had you smiles like a crazy person.

“Are you guys all stalking me?” you say with a smirk.

“We just thought you might need friends around right about now.” Sam says with a sincere tone, opening his arms to give you a hug.

Nobody say a word after that, everyone seems to just pass you onto the next Avenger to give you a hug; before you make your way to the armoury; as you get to Steve and Bucky you pull both of them into a hug at the same time, not caring that everyone else is watching the exchange.

As their going to pull away to give you space, you grab them both by the front of their shirts and pull them to your eye level; you give each of them a kiss on the cheek before looking at them again.

“I never got a proper chance to thank you, for what you both did for me; with the blood transfusion. Thank you for saving me, even when I didn’t believe there wasn’t anything left to save.” You say with serious tone in your voice, your eyes expressing your thanks.

Steve and Bucky seem taken aback by your actions, as is the team; if their facial expressions are anything to go by, well maybe except for Vision who isn’t usually shocked by much.

You let go of both of their shirts and you straighten each shirt out properly before giving your attention to the whole team.

“Alright, I’m going to get my weapons from the armoury; so I’ll see everyone in the training room.” You say with a smile and head off the elevator, with the team following behind.

The elevator is fully packed, but the team makes sure you leave you by the armoury before they leave to head for the training room.

Walking into the armoury you’re confronted with Bruce, T’Challa and Tony; who give you a knowing smile and you can’t help but laugh.

“So I’m guessing you got some toys for him to try.” You say in a casual way as you make your way over to your locker.

“Well, actually it was T’Challa’s idea.” Bruce says with a gentle smile.

You look over at T’Challa, and Tony is smiling a little behind him; you give them an inquisitive look.

“(Y/N), I think that you really deserve an upgrade; so this gift is from the team.” T’Challa says in a formal manner; just as the king of Wakanda always does.

He places two metal suitcases on the counters and Tony helps him to open them; your jaw drops when you see what’s inside.

All your weapons for missions are in the cases, well new weapons to be exact; but what catches your eyes is the metal that they’re constructed from.

“T’Challa, please tell me you didn’t have all my weapons remade in Vibranium?” you ask in a shocked tone.

“Well, you were due for an upgrade and T’Challa thought you would appreciate a more indestructible metal; since you really know how to wear your weapons down.” Tony says with a million dollar smile.

You shake your head at them, smiling like a moron.

“I’m guessing that declining to use them would offend the king of Wakanda?” you ask with a sigh, meeting their eyes.

“Well from what Tony has told me, Logan has Adamantium claws and his skeleton is infused with it; so your current weapons would not do much to help you. Just try them out and if you still feel that this gift is too much, I will gladly take them back.” T’Challa states in an objective voice, giving you a smile.

You gentle pass your fingers over the weapons, before you make the decision to use them; as quickly as you ever could you place all your knives, swords and retractable arms blades on your person. Tony brings over your guns and holsters, but you put your hand.

“Tony, I won’t use guns against Logan and Remy; I know what weapons they use and it’ll be unfair to play that game with them.” You say in a sombre tone.

Tony looks like he’s about to protest, but Bruce places a hand on his shoulder and steers Tony back to your locker to put the guns and holsters back.

Once you’ve armed yourself, you give T’Challa a huge smile; the weight of the Vibranium weapons is so light that, it feels like you don’t have any weapons on you at all.

“Thank you so much T’Challa, the weapons are as light as a feather; it’s going to take some strain off of me while I fight Logan and Remy.” You say in an affectionate tone, walking up to T’Challa pulling him into a hug; which he reciprocates with a huff of laughter.

After a few moments, T’Challa gives you a gentle pat on the back, letting you know that it was time to let go of him.

You look at Tony, Bruce and T’Challa with a smile before you turn to leave the armoury with them in tow; making your way towards the training room you remember something important.

“Tony?” you say in a soft voice.

“Yeah, sweet cakes?” Tony states with a wide smile.

“Do you have the bracelets to control my powers with you?” you ask a casual manner.

“Um... Yeah. Why?” Tony asks with a quirked eyebrow.

“I need to you place them on me.” You state in a calm tone, knowing that Tony will probably throw a piss fest over this.

“What?! Like right now?” Tony states in a shocked tone, his body posture becoming somewhat stiff.

“Tony, please don’t make this hard. It isn’t fair for them to fight me, when I literally have a winning card in my hand.” You state in an exasperated voice.

“Tony, (Y/N) knows what’s she’s doing; so just put on the bracelets and let her get this thing over with.” Bruce says in a calm tone.

Tony looks from Bruce to you and over to T’Challa who is watching with intrigued eyes.

“Alright, fine; clearly I’m being outvoted here.” Tony says in a frustrated tone, pulling out the bracelets and walking up to you.

“Are you sure about this?” Tony asks in a whisper, looking to make sure you were making the right choice.

“Yeah, I’m sure Tony, I know how they both fight; so I’ll be okay.” You state with a smile.

You place your hands in front of you, as Tony places a bracelet on each wrist; before stepping back.

“Thanks, Tony.” You say almost smirking when Tony and Bruce give you a curious look “I know their weaknesses, so all is fair in love and war.”

FRIDAY’s voice comes over the PA system “Miss (Y/N), everyone has assembled in the training room.”

“Thank you FRIDAY, I will be there shortly.” You say in a content voice, filling confident in what is about to happen.

The four of you make your way to the training room, when you walk in you’re not surprised to find Logan and Remy in their X-men suits.

Everyone in the training room turns to see you walk in with Bruce, Tony and T’Challa; you watch as the three men walk over to the Avengers group.

However, you walk over to the Professor and Ororo, who is talking to Logan and Remy.

“Professor, I’d like you to be the judge for this fight.” You say with a confident tone, giving Ororo a smile.

“Are you sure (Y/N)? Tony’s AI system would be a completely impartial mind.” Professor Xavier states in a tranquil voice.

“I’m sure Professor, you know the three of us the best and I trust you completely.” You say with a friendly smile.

“Alright then (Y/N), I’d be honoured.” The Professor says in calm and serene voice.

Making your way to the middle of the training mat, you turn to face both Logan and Remy who have just walked onto the mat.

“Before you three begin your battle, please bear in mind that the battle ends when a person submits or is rendered unconscious. Is this acceptable?” the Professor asks in a peaceful voice.

All three of you nod in acknowledgement.

“Alright, take your fighting stance and prepare for battle.” Professor Xavier states in an authoritative tone “On my mark... And begin.”

Logan and Remy watch you from their positions on the mat, not making a single move towards you; so you decide to initiate a test run to see what you were facing, since it had been years since you had fought alongside both men.

Deciding that saving your weapons for the most opportune moments, you rush in for hand to hand combat; you know that they remember training practices with you and you knew what they expected.

Remy was the weakest of the three of you, so you rushed straight for Logan; which catches Logan off guard since he was expecting you to try to take out Remy first.

Logan manages to block your punch that was aimed for his sternum, catching your fists in each of his hands; as Remy rushes towards the two of you, Logan give you a cocky smirk before he makes kissy lips at you.

Unfortunately, you don’t get riled up like you used to before; so instead you chance a strong kick with both legs to Logan’s chest, causing him to fall back as you fall on your back on the mat; Remy is close and uses his extended pole to catch your chest, but you shift onto the your left side away from both men.

“Well you seem to be taking a different approach, then you used to (Y/N).” Logan states with an amused smirk on his face.

You don’t dignify what he says with an answer, but instead, you grab your long blade katana’s, unsheathing them and taking your fighting stance again ‘This is going to be very interesting indeed.’ You think to yourself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So let me know your thoughts
> 
> Thanks to everyone who has commented and given kudos, it means so much and it gives me motivation to carry on this story.


	63. Chapter 62

Nat’s POV

Watching (Y/N) engaging the initial attack was a surprise since she usually defended first before attacking in retaliation.

You find yourself drawn in, witnessing a different version of (Y/N) battling then on missions; ‘She must want to test out a theory before her really begins the fight.’ You think to yourself.

You hear Logan’s voice “Well you seem to be taking a different approach, then you used to (Y/N).”

So your theory was right, ‘There must be a hell of a fighting history that she’ll need to overcome to beat those two.’ You ponder with a little fear and intrigue.

(Y/N) draws her katana blades and you know roughly what’s coming, though when the light catches on the blades you notice the metal is different.

“Bruce, what’s up with (Y/N)’s weapons?” you ask, your eyebrows quirked in a curiosity.

Bruce meets your gaze “T’Challa gifted her weapons in Vibranium; which she is fighting Logan and Remy with.” He states with a small smile.

“Wow, that’s…” you start saying, but your sentence is forgotten as you hear metal clashing and turn back to the fight on the mat.

(Y/N) has blocked Logan’s attack ‘Are those fucking metal claws?’ you consider in shock and has Remy’s extended pole clasped tightly under her arm, her hand stopping Remy from moving the pole at all.

Logan growls and using his other hand to punch (Y/N), but she blocks with a kick to his elbow; causing Logan to let out a gut wrenching yell of pain, backing away from (Y/N) as he grasps his arm.

Remy tries to yank the pole out of (Y/N) grip but to no avail; he throws what looks like a playing deck card that shines usually bright.

Suddenly there’s an explosion, which sets off the team as they yell to check if (Y/N)’s okay.

Remy seems to have retracted his pole, but what he doesn’t expect is for (Y/N) to have jumped out the smoke from the explosion and land behind Remy and kicking his knee, causing him to fall to the floor.

You’re eyes are captivated, as you watch (Y/N) trying to put Remy in a chokehold, but her move is stopped by Logan who charges in and grabs her around the waist and throws (Y/N) cross the mat.

Watching in dismay as (Y/N) tumbles and knocks her head hard on the mat; Bruce places a hand on your shoulder to stop you from moving closer to the mat, but what really gets your attention is T’Challa, Sam, Clint, Thor and Tony holding Bucky and Steve back.

“Captain Roger, Sergeant Barnes; you must refrain from becoming involved in this fight. It will cause unnecessary distress and pressure on (Y/N), as she is focusing all her attention on beating her previous mates.” Vision says in a matter of fact tone, which makes both men stop their attempt to get to (Y/N).

You sigh in relief for Vision’s straight forward manner, which seemed to deter most from carrying on with their current action or behaviour.

But that doesn’t last long, as your attention is drawn back to the mat; as Logan charges towards (Y/N), his claws ready to rip at (Y/N).

Biting your tongue, so you don’t shout out to (Y/N), you watch as Logan aims for (Y/N)’s arm but it deterred by a knife that is embedded in his shoulder; which makes you sigh a breath of relief.

‘That was close (Y/N).’ you think to yourself as you keep your eyes on the fight in front of you.

“God dammit (Y/N)!” Logan shouts across the mat, as he pulls out the knife and tosses it aside.

You don’t move an inch while the battle is going on, past the point of about an hour; but you are picking up hints of what (Y/N) is planning, but both Remy and Logan don’t seem to be seeing the bigger picture that is being laid out for them, every time she throws a knife at them and they hit it out of the way.

Watching (Y/N) fight like this nonstop is jaw dropping, there is no way that this is normal for anyone; turning your head to the right you find Loki and Thor observing (Y/N) with awe and admiration ‘Okay so maybe there are those who can go in a fight for longer than others.’ You reprimand yourself.

As you focus on the fight, you squeeze Bruce’s hand a little tighter when you see Remy throw about a dozen explosives cards; but you quickly catch on that (Y/N) has setup for that kind of attack, as you watch a dozen throw knives intercept the cards, redirecting them back towards Remy and Logan, making them jump out of the way.

This seems to give (Y/N) the upper hand, as she rushes forward into the smoke of the explosion and after a few seconds all that is heard is a thump and you find yourself concerned for a moment until the smoke clears and everyone sees Remy lying unconscious on the floor; as (Y/N)’s katana blades and Logan’s claws clash causing sparks between them.

 

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Thor’s POV

‘(Y/N) is truly a formidable opponent.’ You ponder to yourself, a sly smile spreading across your face.

“What’s got you in such a good mood, you oaf?” Loki states in a somewhat amused tone.

“Brother, do you not agree that (Y/N) is a challenging adversary?” you say in a joyous voice.

Loki scoffs as he looks on at the battle in front of them, tilting his head towards you; you meet his gaze with curiosity.

“I dare say that (Y/N) would beat Lady Sif hands down.” Loki says with a genuine laugh, which broadens your smile as you laugh with him, patting him on the shoulder.

“I think you might be right brother.” You respond as your laughs die down.

As you look back to the mat you see Logan throw (Y/N) across the mat; out the corner of your eye you watch as Steve and Bucky move swiftly towards the mat.

Clint, Sam, T’Challa and Tony jump in front of them; so you step forward to Steve to restrain him with Tony; as Clint, Sam and T’Challa hold Bucky back.

You watch with curiosity as Vision speaks to both men.

“Captain Roger, Sergeant Barnes; you must refrain from becoming involved in this fight. It will cause unnecessary distress and pressure on (Y/N), as she is focusing all her attention on beating her previous mates.” Vision says in a matter of fact tone, which makes both men stop their attempt to get to (Y/N).

For a being that isn’t actually human, he seems to grasp the emotions that people feel; you think with intrigue.

When you are sure that Steve is in control of himself, you gently pat him on the shoulder in reassurance; Steve meets your gaze and nods before he looks back at the mat.

You move back to your previous place next to Loki who simply shakes his head, his face the picture of disapproval.

“Brother you, don’t be like that.” You say in a chiding tone “You know they feel deeply for (Y/N); it cannot be easy to see her being thrown around.”

“You oaf, if the clawed one has to throw her across the mat; clearly he feels that she is a threat.” Loki states in a stern tone “These two mortals that claim to ‘love’ her cannot see past her being thrown to realise that she must have the upper hand on her opponents.”

“You are right brother, but sometimes emotions dictate how people will react to a situation.” You say in a gentle tone.

“Emotions are for weaklings.” Loki states in a stern voice.

“That is not true brother, and you know that. Did we both not share in the fear and dread of (Y/N) not surviving the elder’s attacks, as we searched for a cure?” you whisper in Loki’s ear, so the rest of the team wouldn’t hear.

Loki looks at you with indignation, his eyes narrowing “Never mention that ever again.” Loki states with a sense of finality.

You simply nod and drop the subject altogether, not wanting to cause an unnecessary rift in front of the team.

Returning your eyes to the fight, you watch with avid fascination as (Y/N) pushes forward to gain the upper hand, though most of the team hasn’t picked up on it yet.

It’s been around an hour already and it seems that both Logan and Remy are becoming a little more flustered and frustrated that (Y/N) is still pulling her weight on the mat, your eyes move over the next move; trying to stifle a laugh of true joy you watch as (Y/N) uses Remy’s explosive cards against Logan and Remy; she charges into the smoke without a second thought, you can’t help but smile.

‘She truly is a force to be wrecked with.’ You think to yourself, but you feel your heart stop when you hear the thud of a body; but you let out a breath as you watch Logan rush forward his claws clash with (Y/N)’s katana blades in a fiery of sparks.

The fighting becomes more intense since Remy was incapacitated; now it’s a one on one fight now, Wanda had gently levitated Remy’s body off of the mat, so Ororo can check him over.

Logan seems to become more feral, since he doesn’t have to look out for Remy and himself; his attacks are beginning to look like an animal stalking its prey, you shift a little to hide the fact that you might now win.

Logan tries to land a punch to (y/N)’s face, but (Y/N) manages to duck under Logan’s arm; unfortunately as (Y/N) passes under Logan’s arm, he grabs (Y/N) by the scuff of her suit with his other hand almost choking her on the fabric.

(Y/N) hastily drops her katana blades to try to loosen the material around her neck, Logan takes that opportunity to swing (Y/N) around, so her back hits his chest hard, and he pulls her into a chokehold.

“Damn it.” Bucky spits in anger, you look at Bucky who looks like he could commit a murder right now; his eyes moving away from the mat.

“That move wasn’t even legal.” Steve states in a harsh voice, his arms crossed over his chest and his jaw set as he makes eye contact with Bucky.

“Captain, Sergeant; I think you’re both not looking at the bigger picture.” T’Challa says in a calm tone; as he points back to the mat.

Your face lights up as you look back at (Y/N), who has managed to snake her hands under Logan’s forearm palms facing outward, to give her room to breathe.

‘A most skilled opponent indeed.’ You think to yourself.

Logan tries to distract (Y/N) from breaking the chokehold, whispering in her ear; but what catches everyone’s attention is when Logan places a kiss on the side f (Y/N) face.

You watch as something flashes in (Y/N)’s eyes and you feel like you’re going to stop breathing altogether.

“I believe that moron has just sealed his fate.” Loki states with a smirk, like a cat that’s caught the canary.

Looking from Loki back to the mat, you find yourself shocked with what has happened within a couple of seconds; that even the team is gobsmacked and totally awe struck.

\-------------

 

Reader’s POV

You focus on getting your hands on the inner side of Logan’s forearm that is cutting off your oxygen supply, you feel him flex his muscles more to stop you from moving; but you finally manage to get your hands between your neck and his forearm, the palms of your hands facing outward to give you a little room to breathe.

As you try to formulate a plan in your mind, Logan tries to distract you.

“Ah (Y/N), come on. You know that you want to come home with me and Remy, stop playing hard to get.” Logan whispers in your ear, so no one else can hear.

You refuse to give into his games, so you try to refocus on your next step to get out of Logan’s chokehold.

“Stop ignoring me (Y/N), I know that you still love me and Remy; feeling like that, don’t just go away.” Logan whispers a little more harshly, hoping for a reaction.

Ignoring him again, you shift slightly to make room to move your head from under Logan’s arm; but you lose your train of thought when Logan kisses you on the side of your face and you see red.

Keeping your hands firmly placed against Logan’s arm, you try to get a strong footing on the mat, but Logan leans back to get your feet off the ground, so you do the next best thing.

You swing your legs towards your chest, causing Logan to lose his balance; as he falls onto his back, you use all your strength and push your palms forward loosening the grip he has around your neck and you stumble over his body onto the mat.

As quickly as you can, you’re on your feet again; just as Logan rolls onto his stomach you launch yourself on top of him and quickly place him in a perfect chokehold before he can get his hands under your forearm.

Now it’s his turn to try and get out of the hold, but the more he struggles, the more your grip tightens around his neck.

“Let go of me (Y/N).” Logan stammers, as he tries to get a strong grasp on your arm; but to no avail.

“No, Surrender and I’ll let go.” You say in a huff, keeping the chokehold tight around Logan’s neck.

“Don’t make me hurt you (Y/N).” Logan almost growls as he struggles to breathe.

“You already have Logan, you and Remy.” You state growling back at Logan.

“Fine.” Logan whispers before he brings his fist up against your arm.

You’re a little slow to react, as Logan unsheathes his claws right into your arm just below where your hidden blades are located; hoping to get you off of him.

A gut wrenching scream pierces the room, as you feel Logan’s claws slowly and painfully cut through the meat and bone in your arm; but you tighten your grip with your other arm and bear through the pain.

Logan starts to flail around as his oxygen supply is cut short; you take an opportunity and wrap your legs around Logan’s waist, bringing him down to the mat.

Once you’re both on the ground, you hook your left foot behind Logan’s left knee and do the same with the right side.

You feel Logan’s body go limp after a couple of seconds, but you hold on for about 10 seconds more to make sure he’s not faking.

Once you’re sure that he’s unconscious, you let go of Logan and shift away from his body; clucking your arm to your chest.

The whole team rushes forward, besides Loki who is standing off to the side watching; Professor Xavier, Ororo and Remy make their way over to Logan.

“(Y/N) let me have a look.” Bruce says in a concerned tone.

Slowly you let Bruce take hold of your arm, trying to look at the wounds; but your suit is in the way. Bucky comes up next to Bruce and looks at your arm for a moment.

“Bruce, get (Y/N) to the med bay; the hidden blade is keeping her arm splinted.” Bucky states in a controlled voice.

“Bucky?” you say in a hushed voice, when Bucky meets your gaze you smile at him “It’s okay, there was no way I was going to lose; Logan did what he had to do in hopes of winning.”

“I know (Y/N), but it doesn’t excuse the fact that he hurt you like this; to win.” Steve almost snarls his anger evident by the look on his face.

Remy tries to come up to you, but both Bucky and Steve block his path.

“I think you should be worrying about your team mate, then coming over here.” Steve snaps at Remy.

Remy looks past Steve and Bucky to make eye contact with you, as Thor lifts you up into his arms.  
“Cher, I’m sorry that Logan hurt you like that.” Remy states in a heartbroken tone.

As much as you’d like to hug him and tell him it’ll be okay, you can’t bring yourself to do it; because you know that he’ll interpret the hug as something different than it really is.

“Remy it doesn’t matter.” You say in a blasé tone, as you look over at Professor Xavier and Ororo as they meet your gaze “Thank you both for helping me out with the elders’; I hope you guys have a safe trip back to the school.”

‘I’m sorry Professor, but I’m sure you understand what will happen if I give Remy any more attention.’ You think in your mind, hoping that the Professor will hear you.

‘Of course (Y/N), you take care of that arm; maybe one day you three will be able to be friends.’ The Professor responds.

You look at Thor and Bruce “I think we can head up to the med bay guys.” You say in a calm tone.

“Of course, (Y/N).” Thor says in his cheerful voice “You were truly amazing to watch in battle; Loki and I shall take you to Asgard for you to face Lady Sif one day.” He continues to talk, as he carries you out of the training room with Bruce in tow; leaving the rest of the team behind in the room.

 

\----------

 

T’Challa’s POV

“How is he doing Ororo?” you ask in a calm tone.

“I believe, he’ll survive today and live to fight another day.” Ororo says with a small smile.

You can’t help but laugh, at her intended humour in this uncomfortable situation; watching as both Professor Xavier and Ororo meet (Y/N)’s gaze.

“Thank you both for helping me out with the elders’; I hope you guys have a safe trip back to the school.” (Y/N) says in a kind voice to Ororo and the Professor.

“Ororo, would you like some help; with carrying Logan back to the Blackbird?” you ask in a neutral voice, not wanting to make the scene to be anymore awkward.

“Thank for your offer T’Challa, but maybe it might be a better choice to stay with your team mates.” Ororo says in a diplomatic voice, her face friendly and open as she looks at you.

“I do not mind to help you out, even if it is under these circumstances.” You almost insist with a smile.

“King T’Challa, we would be honoured if you could assist Remy with Carrying Logan back to the jet.” Professor Xavier says in a humoured tone “Ororo if you would please bring the jet around, to make the burden a little lighter for both Remy and King T’Challa.”

“Of course, Professor.” Ororo says in a content voice.

You watch as Nat and Wanda come over to Ororo; hugging each other and bidding farewell, Ororo leaves the training room; while Nat and Wanda head over to Tony and tell him that they’re going to check on (Y/N) before they too leave the training room.

As Remy approaches Logan’s body, you step forward to help him, but he loses his cool.

“I wouldn’t touch him Monami.” Remy states in a tense voice, his anger evident from his body language.

“Remy, please don’t make this any more complicated than it already is.” Professor Xavier states with a sigh.

“Professor, it is bad enough that Logan and I were beaten in front of (Y/N)’s team.” Remy says in a defeated tone “I wouldn’t have it look like we were escorted form the premises like we’re unwanted.”

You look over at the rest of the team that is still present, with a sigh; shaking your head in anguish for both Remy and Logan.

Steve and Bucky look like they’re about ready to chime in, but you put your hand up to silence them.

“Remy, I am sorry that you and Logan could not win (Y/N) back.” You state with sincerity in your voice “I simply will to help alleviate the burden you face having to carry Logan by yourself; I meant no disrespect my friend.”

“I can manage by myself Monami, I’m no weakling.” Remy retorts with spit in his voice.

Before you could respond to Remy, you hear the Professor’s voice in your mind.

‘King T’Challa, if you could please catch Remy; I’m going to place him back into his unconscious state, to make getting both men back to the school easier for Ororo and myself.’ The Professor says in an exasperated voice.

As you look from the Professor to Remy, you watch as Remy’s eyes go wide and suddenly his eyelids close as his falls towards the floor.

Rushing forward you grab Remy and gently place him on the floor next to Logan’s unconscious form.

“Mr Stark I’m sorry for the inconvenience, that we have caused by being here longer than necessary. I hope that maybe the next time we meet, it will be under different and more joyous circumstance.” Professor Xavier states in a kind voice, a smile ghosting over his face.

Looking over at your team, you see Steve and Bucky who seemed to have calmed down; after wanting to rip Logan and Remy apart.

“It was nothing Professor; it was actually quite entertaining to have you around.” Tony chimes in with his ever charming smile “FRIDAY, please could you send through the Iron Legion; to help move Remy and Logan safely to the Blackbird jet.”

“Right away, Boss.” FRIDAY’s voice comes over the PA system.

You look over the men of your team and shake your head at them; this was no way to end off communication with Professor Xavier and the school for the gifted.

“If it is all the same to you Tony, I would prefer to help move Logan and Remy myself; if anyone else would like to help it would be appreciated.” You say with as much of your kingly authority as you can muster, as you get close to Remy to pick him up.

You’re stopped by Sam coming up to you with Clint in tow.

“Hold up T’Challa, let Clint and me help you; we don’t need you breaking your perfectly manicured nails.” Sam says with a cocky smile, holding back his laughter.

Almost everyone laughs at Sam’s comment, well besides Steve, Bucky and Loki; Loki who looks unimpressed if not bored by the comment and leaves the training room altogether.

“Thank you, Sam, Clint.” You say with a genuinely happy smile on your face.

As the three of you pick up Remy, you see Steve and Bucky move closer and you pause; waiting to see what they will do.

You’re relieved that Steve and Bucky gently pick up Logan between the two of them and look to the Professor for guidance.

“Thank you for your assistance Captain Rogers and Sergeant Barnes.” Professor Xavier says in a totally grateful voice; as he takes the lead of the group heading out of the training room with Tony watching the scene with what could pass off as a mischievous smirk on his face.

Once everyone gets to the Blackbird, the Professor directs everyone as to where exactly to place Logan and Remy securely, before bidding farewell and disembarking from the jet.

Everyone waits as the jet ascends and takes off into the sky, away from the compound.

You turn to the rest of the group expressing your thanks for them helping the Professor and Ororo, which everyone seems it respond with ‘It was nothing’.

“So I’m going to head to over to the med bay to see (Y/N).” Tony pipes up with a smile.

Everyone seems to agree that it’ll be a good idea to head over and see how she’s doing after the damage Logan did to her arm.

On the way to the medical bay, you stay silent and listen to Sam, Clint and Tony talking about the fight and how well (Y/N) did; there were some moves that no one on the team had seen.

“I’d take a bet the Xmen had seen most of those moves.” Tony says with a smirk on his face, quirking his eyebrows.

Steve and Bucky seem to be quiet on the whole topic, which doesn’t surprise you; not after all the time you’d spent with them.

“Captain Rogers, Sergeant Barnes; you know that (Y/N) will be alright.” You say, hoping to get them calmed down before they see (Y/N).

“We know that T’Challa.” Steve says in a low voice “It was just a shock that that man would injure (Y/N) that badly just to win her back.”

“Fear causes one to do unspeakable things sometimes Captain, you need to remember that they have a long history; so we cannot judge them too harshly, just on what we saw over this past couple of weeks. Perhaps there is a lesson to be learned from this fight we witnessed.” You say in a thoughtful manner.

“Yeah, don’t stab the woman you supposedly love.” Tony says with a laugh.

Everyone turns the corner to find Bruce wrapping (Y/N)’s arm; it seems they had to cut her uniform off so as not to affect the arm too much, something shiny catches your eye and you smile to yourself.

You watch with somewhat amusement as Bucky and Steve rush over to (Y/N), but seem to hit an invisible force field.

“Oh, burned!” Clint shouts with a laugh.

“Glad to see you’re back to your normal self (Y/N).” Sam states with a snigger.

Tony, Clint and Sam are beside themselves with laughter, even with Steve and Bucky giving them death glares.

You sigh to yourself ‘Well hopefully things will get back to normal.’ You ponder to yourself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holla at me, and let me know what you think :)
> 
> Also if you happen to see this story on Deviant Art, no one stole the story; I'm just posting on that website, for more people to read and comment it.


	64. Chapter 63

Three Weeks Later

Bruce’s POV

 

“Well (Y/N), it seems your arm is back in working order thanks to Steve and Bucky’s blood transfusion, again; so you should be able to train without any issues.” You say with a big smile on your face, but as you watch (Y/N) get that sparkle in her eyes you pipe up and add “But, no heavy or complex workouts; sparing should be basic minimum at this point.”

“Ah Bruce, come on you know I can handle it.” (Y/N) practically whines at you.

“Oh I know you (Y/N), just bear with me for a couple of days and then we’ll discuss you letting rip into the team on the training mat.” You say in a chiding tone.

You watch as (Y/N) sighs, even though she’s still smiling “Okay… ‘Daddy’.”

Your face reflects your embarrassment ‘God damn it Nat.’ you think to yourself; since Nat had recently discovered that calling you ‘Daddy’ gave you a hard on from hell.

“Get out of the lab (Y/N), you’re just as bad as Nat.” you say with a huff, before turns to carry on with your work.

“I’m sorry Bruce; I didn’t mean to embarrass you…” (Y/N) states with a grimace, as you look back at her.

“It’s okay (Y/N), I just thought that Nat would have kept that piece of information to herself.” You say in a dejected voice.

“Actually it’s not Nat’s fault Bruce...” (Y/N) says with a shrug “Wanda, Nat and I were playing truth or dare; and well you know how we get when it’s just us girls playing.”

You shake your head, when you think back on some past moments when Nat had come to bed in the early hours of the morning after playing truth or dare with Wanda and (Y/N); and you can’t help but laugh at the ‘secrets’ that Nat would share with you in bed about the girls.

“Well, we’ll just keep this between us now won’t we; or I might let slip about that trip you’re planning to take Steve and Bucky on.” You say with a sneaky smirk, turning the mood away from sad, depressing vibes.

“Bruce, you wouldn’t.” (Y/N) states in a shocked tone, her face going a little pale.

“(Y/N) you know I’m not Tony right.” You say with a laugh, pulling (Y/N) into a hug “I won’t say a word, just don’t let the guys know about my um… ‘kink’… Please?” you ask in a serious tone.

(Y/N) holds you back at arm’s length and smiles at you “You’re secret is totally safe with me.”

Just as you about to reply, the lab door opens and Nat walks in; taking in the scene in front of her.

“Oh, am I interrupting something?” Nat asks you and (Y/N) with curiosity.

“Nope, you’re right on time Nat.” (Y/N) states with a broad smile on her face.

“Really?” Nat says with a quirked eyebrow.

“Yip, I need someone to put me through my paces, and you’re the best person.” (Y/N) answers with a smirk.

“(Y/N), I don’t think...” you chime in, but you don’t get a chance to finish as (Y/N) interrupts you.

“Bruce, you know the guys will hold back and I trust Nat not to break me on my first run after everything I’ve been through.” (Y/N) states in a confident tone.

“Well I’m not exactly going to go easy on you (Y/N); it’s not in my nature.” Nat states with a smirk.

You look at Nat with a worried expression on your face, as you look between (Y/N) and Nat; Nat walks over to you and pulls you into a hug, which you practically melt into.

“Baby, you know I won’t hurt (Y/N).” Nat whispers into your ear, which makes you laugh “But I will see what she can do, after all the healing and physical therapy.”

“Alright, I guess I have no choice.” You say with an exasperated sigh.

“No, you really don’t; not with two dangerous women next to you.” (Y/N) says with a laugh.

“Okay then, can you wonderful and lethal women please leave my lab; so I can get some work done before Tony disturbs my day.” You state with a broad smile on your face.

“Sure, thing Brucie.” (Y/N) and Nat say in unison, with a laugh; as they both shout jinx at the same time.

You just shake your head at them with a smile on your face ‘No one seeing this scene in front of them, would ever believe that these two women were deadly, sneaky killers.’ You ponder to yourself.

(Y/N) and Nat wrap an arm around the each other and walk out of the lab, laughing at each other; it warms your heart to know that even though both women have been through hell and back, their friendship seems to bring out the younger and more youthful parts of themselves that many would never get to see.

‘Well back to work, for now; while I can.’ You think with a calming thought, but that is interrupted by Tony barging into the lab.

“BRUCIE!!!” Tony practically yells for you.

You bring your hand up to your face, rubbing your forehead in an annoyed manner ‘Well there goes peace and quiet out the door.’

“Yes, Tony?” you ask in a composed tone, keeping your cool.

“I have got an awesome project for us to test out in the lab before we have it put into real practice in the world.” Tony states in his over the top charming voice, his smirk quite evident on his face.

“As long as it’s not another Ultron project.” You say with a sigh.

“Hey! That wasn’t my fault…” Tony states, pouting his lips; as you raise your eyebrows at him, he relents “Fine, okay it was my fault; but I swear this is not like Ultron.”

 

\-------------

 

Reader’s POV

 

You and Nat head into the ladies changing rooms in the training room, both of you changing your normal everyday clothes for gym pants, sports bra, a thin strap top, socks and takkies.

“(Y/N), are you sure you want to get onto the mat today? We could do some strength training today and spar tomorrow?” Nat asks casually as she ties her shoe laces.

Looking up to meet Nat’s gaze as you get up from the bench, you smile.

“Nat, I need to see what I can do; so I can assess what I need to focus on for the time being, so I can be at my best when we’re called out on a mission.” You say in a comforting tone.

Nat finishes with her shoes and stands up straight “Alright then, let’s do this.”

You both laugh and grab a towel and head out to the training mat, to warm up. While both of you are warming up together on the mat, you hear the doors to the training room open and loud voices talking animatedly.

As you look over, you see Clint, Sam, Steve and Bucky walking in dressed for their work out; Nat nudges you and smiles.

“Nat, don’t go there.” You say in a stern tone.

Ever since you kissed Steve and Bucky on the cheek outside your apartment a couple of weeks ago, Nat and Wanda had been hounding you for information; on one occasion Wanda at Nat’s request had been trying to gain access to your mind, but you managed to shut her out completely.

“Ah, come on (Y/N); you know they both love you right.” Nat states with a playful smile.

“It’s quite evident since my binding rings are keeping them away.” You say in a matter of fact tone.

“So you’re saying you don’t feel anything for them?” Nat asks with quirked eyebrows.

You take a deep breath and let it out “Nat, I don’t know what I feel; in all honestly the spell that my friend put on me before I got the binding rings doesn’t let me feel any romantic emotions.” You state in a reserved tone “I don’t know what it is about Bucky and Steve, but I don’t think I feel love for them, though in the same insistence I feel more for them than just friendship.”

“Have you thought about going to see your friend and find out what’s going on?” Nat questions in curiosity.

You laugh at Nat’s persistent nature “I’m due for a visit at some point.” You say with a nonchalant attitude, as you look over at Nat; you quickly add “And yes, I’ll ask my friend about this ‘feeling’.”

That answer seems to pacify Nat for now, so you take advantage “So you ready to get your ass handed to you, little Russian doll?”

That gets Nat smirking in a very sinister way before she answers “Well old lady, let’s see what you got.”

You both burst out laughing, which catches the guys’ attention.

“Old lady, that’s the best you could come up with?” you state in a teasing tone.

The guy’s walk over, and stand by the edge of the mat, to hear the banter going on.

“Nat, maybe you shouldn’t piss off a woman who can turn you to ash in seconds.” Clint chimes in, with a concerned look on his face.

“It’s okay Clint, I’m just going to give Nat an ass whooping for that sassy mouth of hers.” You say in a joking voice, as you laugh.

“Oh, my gosh Cap.” Sam states in a serious tone “(Y/N) going to steal your ‘Language’ title.”

Everyone bursts out laughing at that, well everyone except for Steve who rolls his eyes in an annoyed manner.

“Come on, Sam.” Steve says in an almost pleading tone “You weren’t even there.”

“Well word travels fast, Cap; most probably even faster than your morning runs.” Sam snorts out while he tries to stop laughing; which causes everyone to break out into renewed fits of laughter.

You look over at Steve and you see that he’s smiling at you, even though he looks a bit put out. So you return his smile and you straighten up and look at Nat.

“Well let’s get this show on the road, shall we?” you say with a confident tone.

Nat nods in agreement and takes her fighting stance, as she faces you on the mat; the guys seem to dial down the laughter and bantering as they watch you and Nat from the sidelines.

You take your fighting stance, and look at Nat to acknowledge that you’re ready; which sets Nat into motion, as she begins to circle around you.

Closing your eyes to focus your attention on the energy around you, you shift slightly to the right and open your eyes as Nat’s fist misses your head by inches; grabbing her wrist over your shoulder with both your hands, you flip her over your back and she lands on the mat with a hard thump.

Nat groans and turns onto her stomach and gets back up onto her feet, shaking herself out.

“So I’m guessing that was you taking it easy on me just now?” you ask in a teasing manner.

Nat simply smirks at you, and lurches forward and swipes your legs out from under you, as you try to punch her.

You land on the mat with a grunt, and Nat is straddling you in an instant; grabbing your wrists tightly and placing your hands on your head.

“Nat, you know better than to sit on me.” You say with a sneaky smirk.

Nat is about to respond, when you place your feet firmly on the ground and buck your hips and at the same time you pull your arms down towards your chest; causing Nat to lose her grip on your wrists, forcing her to try to balance herself without losing her dominant position on the mat.

As Nat places her hands on the mat to steady herself, as you buck your hips, using your leverage you drive your right foot to push yourself onto your left side, rolling Nat onto her back with you on top between her legs; as quick as lightning you elbow Nat in the sternum, before you swiftly get to your feet.

Nat is on the floor coughing, while she brings her knees up to her chest; you take pity on her and you kneel next to her on the mat.

“You okay Nat?” you ask in concern.

Suddenly, Nat catches your arm; that had just recently healed after Logan had damaged with his claws.

‘Oh shit.’ You think to yourself, as Nat wraps her legs around your neck; while still holding onto your arm.

“Nat, be careful with (Y/N)’s arm.” Steve says in his Captain America voice.

Neither of you is paying Steve any attention since Nat doesn’t want to lose her advantage and you need to find a way to get out of this hold.

Nat pulls a little more forcefully on your arm, as she tightens the grip of her thighs around your neck; you look at Nat as slow your breathing down, and focus on the next step.

As your eye sight starts going black around the edges, you remember that a method of training you had been taught many years ago.

Placing your free hand on Nat’s thigh, moving your hand to the back of her leg; and then placing your thumb in the correct point you press down hard on a pressure point causing Nat to scream out in pain and let’s go of you, clutching her leg.

You quickly move in closer before she can lash out on anger and release her pressure point, which makes her fall completely limp on the mat, sucking in deep breaths; the guys running over to check on both of you.

“Nat are you okay?” Clint asks in a worried tone, his eyebrows furrowed.

“(Y/N) how’s your arm?” Steve asks concern and stress laced thick in his voice, as Bucky and Steve standing at a distance from you.

You’re still next to Nat on the mat, as you met her gaze; you both burst out laughing at the same time; while you rub your arm.

“Well, that was exciting for a first trial run, old lady.” Nat says between laughs “You have to teach me how to do that, it hurt like shit but was totally amazing.”

“Only you could find the good in using a person’s pressure point against them.” You say shaking your head at Nat.

“Well, you sure as hell put me out of commission with it.” Nat states with a broad smile.

“(Y/N) are you okay?” Bucky asks in a troubled voice; interrupting your girl moment with Nat.

You look over at the guys with a smile “I should be okay; I just need to work on building strength back into my arm.”

Nat’s face becomes serious “(Y/N) do you want to head to the lab and let Bruce take a look at your arm?” Nat asks in a solemn tone.

“Nah, I’m good Nat, I promise.” You say with a smile.

“Miss (Y/N), I was told to inform you that Mark will be here in 15 minutes to check on your arm.” FRIDAY states in a neutral tone.

You look at Nat and shake your head ‘Who the hell called Mark? It was bad enough seeing Steve and Bucky giving the guy death glares, even though Mark was a happily engaged man to his sweet and amazing partner Joe.’ You ponder to yourself.

“Who requested for Mark, FRIDAY?” Steve asks in an irritated tone.

“I believe it was Mr Stark, Captain Rogers.” FRIDAY responds in a casual tone.

Both Bucky and Steve, almost growl that the AI’s response; which causes Sam, Clint and Nat to start sniggering.

You look at Sam, pleading for him to get Steve and Bucky away from the mat; since it’s going to be bad enough when Mark gets to the gym to see you.

“Well guys, I think it’s about time that we actually get round to doing what we came here to do.” Sam says with a broad smile on his face, as he tries to stop himself from laughing.

“I’m still in if you guys are.” Clint pipes up with a smirk.

Both Bucky and Steve mutter that they’re still going to work out; which leading the four men over to the gym equipment to start their warm ups, before they begin their work outs.

Nat shift closer to you and whispers “I’ve never seen Steve look so pissed, well besides when he was defending and protecting Bucky from Tony.”

“Well if Steve and Bucky would just observe closely, they would realise that Mark is taken and very much gay.” You say with a sigh.

“Well, they’re not going to notice, when you take off the binding rings for Mark to do physical therapy with you.” Nat states in a chiding voice.

“Fair enough ‘mom’.” You sarcastically mutter under your breath.

“Do you want me to sit with you, while you wait for Mark?” Nat asks with a wide smirk on her face.

“Sure, the more the merrier.” You say in a wound up voice.

Nat pulls you into a hug and whispers in your ear “Don’t look now, but the two old men of our group are eyeing up the old lady in the room.”

You can’t help but laugh when Nat pulls back and looks you in the eye; and laughs with you. Both of you spend some time chit chatting about non-essential things, which gets you completely relaxed.

Nat also manages to convince you to attend a belly dancing class with her, and you only give in since Wanda will be going; so it becomes a girl’s night out.

As you and Nat get up from the mat and walk over to where your towels are, you both see the door to the training room open and Mark in walks to the room; and immediately makes his way over to the both of you.

You take off your binding rings and place them on your towel, before allowing Mark to envelop you and Nat into a tight hug.

“Hey there, you two sexy cats.” Mark says with an overexcited tone and a bright smile on his face.

Ever since Mark had been asked to take up physical therapy with you, Nat had always been close by; as had Steve and Bucky from a distance.

Mark had since then become great friends with both of you and he even got to know Wanda a little, which was fun to see when he found out that Wanda could read his mind.

“Hi Mark, how are you doing?” Nat asks in a friendly voice, untangling herself from the hug.

“I’m good. I got a call about your arm, is everything okay (Y/N)?” Mark asks turning his full attention to you.

“I’m okay, just took my arm for a test run on the mat with Nat not too long ago.” You state with a shrug like it’s no big deal “Tony must assume that, I need to be babied.”

“He’s just looking out for your best interests.” Mark states in a caring tone “So let me get setup and I’ll go through an assessment and we’ll do more exercises, to see the range of motion you have and maybe seem floor routines.”

Mark walks over to one of the cupboards; that has a collapsible table and his other equipment, leaving Nat to give you a sly look.

“Oh, so you’re a gymnastics baby?” Nat asks in interest.

“Never took it up professionally, but I totally loved the range of motion and flexibility you get out of it.” You state in a nonchalant voice.

“Oh, I’m sure the guys are going to love this.” Nat states with a laugh, you just shake your head and move over to where Mark has setup everything.

“Alright (Y/N), on the bed please.” Mark asks in a sweet voice, with a huge smile on his face.

“Shut up Nat.” You say chime at Nat before you pull off your takkies and climb onto the back; lying on your back.

“Okay, so I’m going to start off with assessing your muscles, and bones; before we move into realising tension and doing some exercises.” Mark says with a sweet smile completely ignoring Nat’s remarks to you.

\--------

 

Sam’s POV

 

“Okay, so is everyone going to work out; or are we going to stare at (Y/N).” You say in a teasing voice, which makes Bucky and Steve both scowl at you.

“Very funny, Birdbrain.” Bucky snarls at you and heads for the treadmill, to do a warm up run.

“Maybe take it a little easy on the old guys Sam, we don’t want them all seagull crazy; like in the movie ‘Finding Nemo’.” Clint says with a laugh, which has you cracking up as well.

Steve simply shakes his head at the both of you and heads over the treadmill next to Bucky’s and begins his warm up run as well.

Both you and Clint decide to do some warm up exercises with restraint bands, while the super soldiers stay on the treadmills; everyone mulling over their own thoughts in their mind.

The silence is a blessing after witnessing (Y/N) and Nat sparring on the mat; which was fun until Clint became an older brother, while Bucky and Steve became over protective ‘boyfriends’; even though (Y/N) still kept her binding rings on.

“Hey Sam, you listening, buddy?” Clint pipes up, bringing you out of your thoughts.

“Yeah, um... Sorry, Clint.” You say with a smile, as you made eye contact with Clint.

“Dude, I asked if you think Bucky and Steve are going to finally have a heart attack and die.” Clint states with a laugh.

“Why’d you say that Clint?” you ask in humour, a smirk working its way to your face.

“Because Mark’s just pulled out the collapsible bed, and (Y/N)’s climbing onto it.” Clint states with a broad smile.

You look over to see Mark, placing his hands on different parts of (Y/N)’s body; assessing the tension in the muscles.

Looking over at the ‘oldies’, you can see that they’re already distracted, and looking like they’re about ready to murder Mark.

“Alright, Clint are you warmed up?” you ask Clint giving him the ‘I need help’ look.

“Yeah, I’m sorted. Bucky, Steve you both ready to do some training?” Clint asks in a casual tone, checking where their eyes were focused and starts to snigger.

“Yoh; Bucky, Steve!” you shout at both men, which seem to get their attention; making them both blush for getting caught staring at (Y/N).

“Can you two old men spot Sam and me?” Clint asks in a teasing voice.

“Oh, yeah... Um sure Clint.” Steve stutters and moves over to the bench press machines with you, Clint and Bucky.

“So what are you guys up to this evening?” Steve asks in a casual tone; trying to distract his mind from Mark getting close to (Y/N), while he spots for Sam who is currently bench pressing; while Bucky spots for Clint.

“I was thinking of heading out for a drink tonight. You guys in?” you ask in a cheerful voice, as you re-rack the weight before you sit up on the bench.

“Sorry, but I’m out guys.” Clint says in a vague tone; focusing extremely hard on his breathing.

“Are you heading out to see Laura?” Steve asks in a curious voice, his eyebrow quirking with a little suspicion.

“Nah, I got chaperone duty.” Clint replies, keeping as much information hidden as possible.

“Oh who’s the lucky person, who you’re babysitting?” you ask in amusement.

“It’s not babysitting, and don’t let Nat hear you say that, or she’ll kill you and me.” Clint says in a serious tone.

“Hold on, Nat doesn’t have a mission; so why are you chaperoning her?” Bucky asks in an interested voice.

“The girls are having a night out, and she asked me to keep an eye out from a distance.” Clint states in a nonchalant tone as he re-racks his weight, wiping his forehead before he sits up.

Steve looks confused by what Clint just said, but soon his face goes from confusion into shock.

“Steve, buddy you alright?” Bucky asks in concern.

“Um... Yeah... I overheard Nat telling Bruce about going for belly dancing lessons tonight...” Steve stammers out, as his cheeks go a little rosy pink.

“Wait a minute, so that means that (Y/N), Nat and Wanda are all going to be belly dancing tonight and Clint gets to watch?” Bucky says in an indignant tone.

“Pretty much old folks.” Clint says with a laugh.

“Well, Bucky, why don’t you spot for Steve; while Clint and I spar a couple rounds on the mat.” You say in a casual tone when you notice Mark taking (Y/N) and Nat over to the gymnastics equipment.

Bucky nods and helps Steve load on the weights, taking to spot for Steve; while you and Clint make your way over to the mats.

“How long before they injure themselves while watching (Y/N)?” Clint states with a smirk.

“Give it 2 minutes and they’ll be drooling.” You say with a huffed out laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I'm letting you guys decide.
> 
> Who's POV's do you want to see the belly dancing scene from?
> 
> Let me know in the comment's section the two top character's win.


	65. Chapter 64

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys I'm so sorry for not posting sooner, I've been quite sick in bed.  
> I hope you like this chapter, hopefully I'll have a chapter out early next week.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who's commented and for all the kudos.

Wanda’s POV

“Nat I really don’t think this is for me.” You say in a timid voice, a slight blush spreading across your cheeks.

“Wanda, you’ll be fine; and besides it’s always good to have a variety of skill sets when you have to go on different missions.” Nat states with a broad smile.

You turn as you hear the door to Nat’s apartment open and (Y/N) walks in; completely forgetting to respond to Nat’s comment.

“Sorry, I’m late.” (Y/N) huffs out a breath, with a smile.

“Now what kind of a spy would I be, if I didn’t know you’d be a tiny bit late? And you’re just in time for us to head out anyway.” Nat says with a sly smile on her face.

“What are you up to Nat?” (Y/N) asks with a quirked eyebrow, frowning suspiciously at Nat.

“What do you mean ‘up to’? I want to spend a night out with my girl friends, while we enjoy a bit of dancing and fun.” Nat says ever so innocently, as she looks at you and (Y/N).

“Why do I feel like that is a bit of a lie?” you murmur under your breath, looking at (Y/N).

“I’m totally backing you on this one Wanda.” (Y/N) says with a smile, which has you grinning back.

“You guys are such party poopers tonight; it’s going to be so much fun.” Nat states with a big smile and grabs both of you by the hand, as she drags you towards her apartment door.

“Okay ‘mom’, you can let go.” (Y/N) huffs out a laugh, as she wriggles her hand lose from Nat’s and carries on walking towards the elevator with you both.

“So (Y/N), have you ever done belly dancing before?” you ask in a curious tone, as you look at (Y/N).

“Surprisingly enough, no...” (Y/N) states in an offhand voice, keeping her eyes ahead “I dabbled with different dancing styles, but I kind of avoided belly dancing.”

“Oh I’m sorry (Y/N).” You state in embarrassment, shifting your gaze to the floor “I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories.”

“Hey, it’s okay Wanda; I’m okay with talking about it.” (Y/N) says with a smile on her face.

The three of you walk out of the elevator into the garage, over to Tony’s Audi; yip the one he doesn’t like to share.

You climb in the back seat, while Nat gets in the driver’s seat and (Y/N) sits in the front passenger seat.

Once Nat pulls out of the garage and drives out of the compound, you listen intently as (Y/N) continues to retell her story to you and Nat.

“I was on a ship sailing for Italy, from England when we were accosted by pirates in the Mediterranean Sea. I didn’t even get a chance to fight because the mask of the ship collapsed and I was knocked unconscious.” (Y/N) says in a somewhat amused tone, before continuing her story.

“They had me bound and landed up trading me to a Persian merchant for food when they docked; seems the merchant thought it would be a good idea to have me as one of his concubines, which didn’t end well for him that night and for him and his whole household.” (Y/N) shrugs her shoulders and smiles at you and Nat.

“(Y/N) I’m sorry to catch the story short, but we’re here and don’t worry no one is going to trade you off.” Nat states with a wicked smile, as she parks the car outside of the dance studio.

 

The three of you get out of the car, making your way to the doors of the studio; Nat opens the door and the three of you walk in and find the dancing studio completely empty.

“I booked the studio, so we don’t have any unwanted attention from other dancers.” Nat chimes in, seeming to have caught onto your thoughts.

“That was thoughtful because I wouldn’t want anyone seeing me dance like an idiot.” (Y/N) says in a humoures tone.

“I’m so glad the guys won’t see us, I would be too nervous to dance in front of them.” You say in a timid voice.

The door at the far end of the room opens and an older woman steps out of the room and onto the dance floor.

“Natasha, it’s good to see you again.” The woman states in a friendly tone “And I see you have brought friends with you this time.”

Nat walks up to the woman and hugs she “Barb, it’s good to see you too.” Turning around she brings Barb over to you and (Y/N).

“These are my best friends (Y/N) and Wanda; girls this is Barb one of my oldest friends, while maybe besides Clint.” Nat says with a broad smile on her face.

You and (Y/N) spend some time talking with Barb, while Nat goes into the back room of the studio to get some stuff.

“Come and get ‘em girls.” Nat shouts in amusement.

Both you and (Y/N) walk up to Nat with Barb in tow; Nat handing each of you a folded piece of material that has gold pieces sewn onto the material, shaking the material open the gold pieces seem to chime as they make contact with other pieces of the fabric.

“I’m guessing we’re supposed to wear this while we dress?” (Y/N) pipes up with a frown on her face.

“Here let me help you (Y/N), Nat please help Wanda put on her and then we can get started.” Barb says in a warm and serene voice.

You watch as Barb works the fabric around (Y/N) waist, as Nat makes her way over to you; after a few minutes Nat is done wrapping and ties the fabric around your waist and checks that it sits perfectly on you.

Once Nat and Barb have tied their fabrics around their waists, Barb explains the theory and quick history behind belly dancing, which has you blushing and giggling at some points.

Barb asks Nat to play the music from the CD player, while she instructs you and (Y/N) in the basic moves, correct posture and rhythm of the hips.

After a few moments, Barb asks you to sit down while she watches (Y/N) execute her beginner moves; which has Barb nodding her head in delight.

“(Y/N) you seem to be a natural at dancing, I would like Nat to demonstrate a few sequenced moves and I’d like you to perform them as best you can.” Barb says in an excited voice.

You watch with interested as Nat begins her dance moves and you turn to look at (Y/N) as she picks up on the moves Nat is doing and you find yourself completely intrigued.

“(Y/N) continue to dance, while I assist with corrections in the moves you perform.” Barb says in a calm tone, walking over to (Y/N); and placing her hand on her waist and swinging it out further than (Y/N) was doing.

Even the few corrections that Barb did, wasn’t enough to be put off by (Y/N)’s dancing.

Once the music stopped you couldn’t stop yourself from clapping enthusiastically, getting up from your spot on the floor and rushing over to give (Y/N) a hug

“Oh, my gosh (Y/N) you did so well for your first time.” You squeaked in excitement.

Though the excitement doesn’t last long, since Barb decides to work with you and Nat while (Y/N) takes a little break.

‘This is going to be fun.’ You think to yourself with a smile.

 

\-------------

 

Clint’s POV

 

‘While so much for a night on the couch watching movies.’ You ponder as you ran over roof tops with a backpack on your back, as you make your way to the dance studio that Nat loved going to, to let off some steam on occasions.

When you’re few blocks away, you notice two shadows following you; so you decide to hide and find out who it is.

You can’t help but laugh from your hiding spot when you see both Bucky and Steve stop on the roof top looking for you.

“Well, well, well... You old timers just couldn’t resist being perv’s.” You state with an amused laugh.

“Hey, that’s not true. I just wanted to make sure the girls were okay.” Steve says in an annoyed tone.

“Cap, that’s why I’m here.” You say in an exasperated voice, shaking your head.

“Well a little company wouldn’t hurt, right?” Bucky asks with a broad smile on his face.

Clearly, you weren’t going to get rid of the two fossils; so you just accept the fact that they’ll have to tag along.

‘Please don’t let Nat out find out.’ You think to yourself.

“Fine, but Nat better not find out, or I’m totally sailing your asses down the river.” You say in a tired tone, rubbing your face with your hands “Let’s get going then.”

Bucky and Steve give you big smiles, seeming to be quite pleased with themselves for getting you to agree to let them tag along.

“This is going to be so much fun.” Bucky pipe up, as he and Steve fall into step with you jumping over roofs.

“Yeah, yeah lover boys; I’m sure it’s totally fun, to spy on the girl you like while she is dancing at a girl’s night out.” You snap at Bucky, shaking your head at both them in condescension.

“Ah, come on Clint; you know that (Y/N) doesn’t share even a quarter of her life with anyone, let alone the team.” Bucky responds with a smile “It’s nice to know things about her, even if she’s not ready to share them with everyone just yet.”

“Right Barnes, that makes so much sense I mean; the whole team should have spied on you while you were getting your feel for dancing again.” You say in a sarcastic tone.

Before Bucky can respond to your comment Steve cuts in “Buck, Clint let’s just leave it alone; we’re here now, so let’s just make the most of the experience.”

“Make sure they can’t see you from the studio.” You say in a cool voice, getting yourself comfy in your secret spot on the roof.

Looking down into the dance studio, you watch as the girls put on the belly dancing wraps.

The class begins and you can’t help but smile watching Nat demonstrating for (Y/N) and Wanda; it’s good to see Nat dancing for herself, even if it took such a long time for her not to hate dancing anymore after the Red Room.

“And there they go.” Bucky says in an excited voice.

“Barnes, please stop; I really don’t want to hear commentary while the girls have some fun.” You sat in a tired voice.

This was turning into a babysitting experience instead of a lookout, with Steve and Bucky being here.

“Bucky come on, you know your ma would turn over in her grave if she heard you talking like that about (Y/N), Nat and Wanda.” Steve states in a disapproving tone.

Somehow, even in the dark shadows of the roof; you can make out a little blush spreading on Bucky’s cheeks, which has you laughing to yourself.

Turning your attention back to the girls, you watch as Wanda takes a seat on the floor, while Barb gestures with her hands towards Nat and turning to (Y/N).

“Well, that was quick.” You say to yourself, forgetting that you had company.

“What do you mean Clint?” Steve asks in curiosity.

“I’ve known Barb for as long as Nat has, and that woman never asks beginners to follow experts on the floor.” You say with a broad smile.

“Why is that?” Bucky asks with intrigue.

“Oh, you’ll see guys.” You say in an amused voice, being as vague as possible.

As Steve is about to ask you something you point towards the studio, turning both Steve and Bucky’s attention back to the girls.

The three of you watch, as Nat begins to dance; and a few moments later (Y/N) seems to follow Nat’s lead.

‘Barb still has a talent picking up on natural dancers.’ You ponder to yourself; she did the same with Nat when Nat had finally decided to attend a couple of classes.

You turn to look at Steve and Bucky, only to find them both staring intently at (Y/N); their eyes wide in awe and surprise.

Pulling your attention back to the studio, you watch the rest of the dance; your smile growing ever more with joy at Nat enjoying the moment without any agenda’s or secrets ‘For once she can just be an ordinary woman, enjoying life.’ You think with a smile.

After Nat and (Y/N) finish dancing, you look over at Steve and Bucky “So what’d you guys think?” you say with a smirk.

“Holy hell, I wouldn’t mind dancing with (Y/N).” Bucky pipes up with a smile.

“What about you Steve?” you ask with a curious look.

Steve coughs and stammers a bit “I… I think… (Y/N)’s a really good dancer.”

“Well maybe next time Tony decides to have a party, you’ll ask her to dance Cap.” You say in a kind voice.

Steve always seemed out of sorts when trying to talk to the ladies, which had you feeling bad for him.

“I don’t think I could keep up with her.” Steve mutters under his breath, but you still manage to hear in the quiet night.

“Damn punk, you know that’s a lie.” Bucky pipes up in an annoyed tone, shifting out of his hidden place.

“Barnes, get down before someone sees you.” You say in a chastising voice, like a parent reprimanding their kid.  
Turning your attention back to Steve, you meet his gaze and smile.

“Cap, I think you’ll manage just fine. If Barnes can get a dance from (Y/N) then I’m sure you’ll do fine as well.” You state in an encouraging tone.

“Thanks, Clint.” Steve says with a gentle smile, before punching Bucky in the arm.

“Hey, what was that for?” Bucky yells at Steve.

“That was for calling me a punk, you jerk.” Steve responds, causing you to laugh at the banter between both men.

Both Steve and Bucky burst out laughing at the scene they had caused in front of you.

“Alright guys, let’s get back to watching over the girls.” You say in a somewhat serious voice, keeping the smile on your face.

The three of you watch as Barb, finishes up with Wanda and the girls take a quick breath to get a glass of water and talk a bit.

You pull out a bottle of water out of your backpack and offer it to Steve and Bucky, who gratefully take it and each takes a sip of water before passing the bottle over.

Pulling out three bags of chips, you throw one to each of the super soldiers and open your bag and munch down with gusto.

“So Clint, how come you’re sitting up here watching over them and not inside the studio with the girls?” Bucky asks in interest.

You finish eating the chips and crumple up the bag and toss it in your backpack.

“Well, usually Nat, will let me go in with her; but she didn’t want to spook the girls.” You say in a gentle tone “Especially Wanda, since she’s so self-conscious about herself and her abilities.”

“That makes sense.” Steve states with a kind smile “Nat doesn’t trust easily, that much is clear.”

“I agree with you on that Cap.” You say before looking back at the studio, watching as the girls are getting ready to go for another round “And they’re onto round two guys, this should get a little more interesting.” You say with a smirk.

Both Steve and Bucky look at you like confused puppies before they turn their gaze back to the studio to watch.

 

\--------------------------

 

Bucky’s POV

 

Watching (Y/N) dance was mind blowing, she had such a way of moving her body that could possibly bring countries to their knees.

Unsurprisingly, your mind decides to take a trip down memory lane when you had that amazing dream of making love to (Y/N); just the images flashing in your mind is enough to make you blush a little.

‘Shit.’ You think as you feel your cock gives a twitch of interest ‘Not now.’

“Hey Buck, you okay?” Steve asks you, his eyebrows furrowing in concern.

“Yeah, I’m fine; just admiring (Y/N)’s dancing.” You say in a nonchalant tone.

Steve leans over and whispers in your ear “Jerk, do you think I forgot the tell tell signs of you getting a hard on.”

You pout as you look at Steve with a glare “That’s not funny you punk.”

“Guys, can you both stop acting like a bunch of teenagers right now.” Clint hisses in a low voice.

Steve and you go silent again and carry on watching over the studio, while the girls enjoy their night.

But the more you watched (Y/N) performing the more difficult and erotic moves, the harder it was to keep your thoughts completely innocent and pure.

‘Damn it, this was getting back.’ You thought, as you discreetly re-adjusted your hardened cock in your jeans.

Looking over at Steve for a few minutes, you snigger as you see him adjusting himself as well.

Shuffling over to Steve’s spot, you whisper “So I guess Captain America isn’t a saint, hey?”

“Shut it, Barnes.” Steve says in a disgruntled voice.

“Oh come on punk, you give me grief for liking what I see, but I can’t give you a hard time?” you ask with a smirk.

“It doesn’t matter because I won’t peruse it Buck; that’s the difference.” Steve hisses back at you in agitation.

As you are about respond, Clint interrupts you both “If you two don’t stop this bickering right now, I will drug you both and you’ll land up naked in China with no memory of how you got there.”

That seems to put a lid of the disagreement between you and Steve, so you both look back at the studio and see (Y/N) doing a really sexy swaying hip move, while Nat is no her knees holding (Y/N)’s waist from behind and your mind explodes in more ways than one.

‘God... I can’t stay here; I might just do something that would traumatise Steve and Clint.’ You think to yourself.

“Um, I think I’m going to head out.” You say in a casual tone, well as casual as you can get it; with a very prominent hard on in your jeans.

Steve meets your gaze and smiles “I think we could use some food and maybe a drink.” He says with a quirked eyebrow.

“Sounds like a plan, punk.” You say, returning his smile with one of your own.

“Clint, if you need us, just give us a call and we’ll be right over to help.” Steve says in his Captain America voice.

“Yeah, yeah, you two horny old timers.” Clint states with a laugh, before waving you both off.

Stealthy you both make your way back to your bikes; that had been hidden from Clint and Nat; while you and Steve had followed them.

Once you get back to your bikes, you follow Steve to a 24-hour diner; that has amazing burgers and shakes just like you both remember from the 40’s.

Once you arrive and park your bikes, you make your way inside the diner to your usual booth.

Sally the older waiters walking up to you both with a broad smile “Well, I’m surprised to see you both here at this hour; can’t sleep?” states in a friendly voice, as she hands you both menus.

“Yeah, something like that Sal.” You say in a charming tone “I think I’m just gonna have the usual.”

“Make that two Sally.” Steve pipes up with a smile.

“It must be a serious matter, if you’re both having the usual.” Sally says in a somewhat curious tone “I’ll get your order ready.”

Sally walks over to the window and gives the cook your order and gets your drinks sorted out.

“I guess we should discuss what happened back there?” Steve states as he rubs his hand on the back of his neck.

“I think that is a fairly accurate assessment punk.” You say in a polite tone.

As Steve is about to open his mouth, Sally comes over with yours and Steve’s milkshakes, which you both gladly take with a smile.

Before Sally leaves, she clears her throat to get your attention and Steve’s.

“I know it isn’t any of my business fellas, but whatever is eating at you both; you need to give it time to work itself out. Sometimes a little patience and care are needed for the right pieces to fall into the right place.” Sally states with a smile before the bell from the kitchen is rung.

Sally scurries off to get the order for you both and places all the food on the table before stepping away and back to her spot near the kitchen window.

“That woman can read minds.” Steve says with a laugh before he takes a bite of his burger.

You simply nod your head in agreement since you had already started and your mouth was full.

“Buck, I know that you fell in love with (Y/N) first, but I don’t think I can step down on this.” Steve states after he’s swallowed his bite of food “Sally may have a point, and maybe if we just give (Y/N) our friendship; and let her work through whatever is going on with her, and let her decide what she wants us to be to her.”

You take another bite of your burger, letting what Sally and Steve said mull in your mind for a bit.

“I think (Y/N) deserves a shot at every happiness possible.” You say as you look at Steve with a piercing gaze “But I don’t think I could force her to want me, as much as I’d loved to be her forever until I die.”

“Maybe we could just be her friend for now; watching Logan and Remy go as far as they did to get her back, just made me wonder if we should be the bigger men and just let (Y/N) make the choice, if she wants.” Steve says before he stuffs a couple of fries into his mouth.

“Then I think we’ve made a mutual decision, punk.” You say with a grin, taking a sip from your milkshake “But you got to admit that she is a hell of a dancer.”

Steve nearly chokes on his fries with your comment, which has you laughing just like the good old days.

“You jerk, that was a low blow.” Steve spatters, as he coughs to clear his throat.

“Alright, alright Stevie; I’ll change the subject.” You say with a smile, as you take another bite of your burger.

“Thanks, pal.” Steve says returning your smile.

 

\--------------------------

 

Reader’s POV

 

Meeting Barb was a definite high for you, letting her teach you belly dancing was a bonus; since you loved dancing and gymnastic because it allowed you to express yourself in ways that words couldn’t.

So after going through the first section of following and copying Nat’s dancing moves, you feel more comfortable with this dancing style.

Watching Wanda trying her best at belly dancing is so cute and adorable; Wanda’s face is focused as she concentrates on the moves, while Barb instructs and corrects Wanda’s movements.

You look around the room as you watch Nat and Wanda dancing, you notice something odd in the mirrors reflecting the building opposed the dance studio for a few seconds and then it’s gone.

‘That’s strange I swear I saw Bucky...’ you think to yourself, shaking your head and looking back at Nat and Wanda.

Wanda was laughing and having fun, which is saying a lot since she tended to be more reserved around people she didn’t know very well.

“Ladies I think we can have a quick break and then we’ll get to the good stuff.” Barb says in a cheerful tone “I’m very impressed with you girls.”

“Thank you, Barb.” You and Wanda say in unison, before laughing at each other.

You guys drink some water and chat for a little before, Barb calls you all back to the dance floor to show you the moves that she would like you three to copy next.

The minutes tick by without any of you noticing, as you three have fun dancing with Barb; and before you realise it, it’s nearly eleven o’clock at night.

“Well, ladies I think that we can say good night.” Barb states in a friendly tone, clapping her hands together “I need my beauty sleep and you three need to get some sleep, to start your day bright and early tomorrow.”

Nat walks over to Barb and gives her a hug “Thank you again Barb, this means so much.”

Both you and Wanda head over to Barb and each gives her a hug as well.

“I really enjoyed myself, thank you for sharing this dancing style with us Bar.” Wanda says in a kind and tender tone.

“Barb, thank you for teaching us a new way to express ourselves.” You say with a broad smile.

“It was nothing you sweet young girls, now go home and have a night cap.” Barb says in a joking tone.

The three of you bid farewell to Barb, before heading out of the studio to make your way back to the car, and Nat drives all of you back to the compound; surprisingly singing along to Tony’s music mix.

Once Nat has parked the car back in its spot, you guys head over to the elevator and make your way to the common room floor.

“Hey, you ladies are back.” Sam says in an amused voice “Did you have fun?”

“Yes, we did Sam.” Wanda says in a sweet tone, as she makes her way over to Vision who is playing chess with Bruce quietly.

“Hi, Nat.” Bruce says in a timid voice, before looking back at the chessboard to see Vision’s next move.

You walk over to the bar and take a seat on the stool, watching everyone around the room.

Thor comes into the common room and has a bottle of Asgardian mead in his hand.

“Ah, Lady (Y/N); you’re back from your joyous time.” Thor states in his booming voice.

You can’t help but laugh, as you watch me walk over to you; taking a seat next to you by the bar. Out of the corner of your eye you notice Loki huff out a deep breath before getting up and leaving the common room.

“Loki has been acting a little strange lately. Is he okay?” you ask in a concerned voice, your eyebrows furrowing.

“His mind is preoccupied with regards to the elders; he believes that the elders now know that he is here and will come for him, as punishment for his failure.” Thor states in a wary tone.

As you’re about to give him some advice, when Clint walks into the common room and sits down on the couch before putting on a movie.

“Thor, why don’t you leave that amazing mead with me; and take your mind off of Loki for a bit while watching a movie with Clint.” You say in a kind tone, rubbing his shoulder in encouragement.

Thor gives you a smile and hands over the bottle, there’s over half left when you shake it and laugh; before Thor moves over to the couch where Clint is sitting while he watches a movie.

You decide to get some fresh air and make your way out onto the balcony with the bottle of Asgardian liquor, taking a sip from the bottle and leaning against the railing of the balcony.

The cool air makes you shiver, taking a longer sip from the bottle which seems to give you a warm and fuzzy feeling ‘Thor must have ask them to make it with extra strength.’ You ponder in amusement.

Placing the bottle on the railing you look at the binding rings on your fingers and sigh ‘You really don’t need these (Y/N).’ you mentally tell yourself ‘Steve and Bucky won’t take advantage, they would never want to hurt you.’ You mull over in your mind.

Taking another long swig from the bottle, you place it back on the railing and pull off both rings and shove them into your skinny jeans pocket, picking up the bottle to take another drink; when you hear two motor bikes in the distance.

‘Bucky and Steve were out til late tonight.’ You ponder to yourself, taking a moment to enjoy the burn of the liquid of the Asgardian liquor, as it flowed down your throat.

Both men drive into the garage, as you watched from the shadows on the balcony; your mind drifting into a tranquil and quiet space and you lose track of time until someone is clearing their throat behind you catches your attention.

Turning around you see Steve and Bucky standing by the door, giving you a smile when you meet their gazes.

“Any of that Asgardian treasure left to share with two super soldiers?” Steve asks in a friendly tone.

“There’s always some to share.” You respond with a cheerful laugh, holding out the bottle for him to take.

Steve and Bucky walk over to you and lean against the railing, Steve thanks you and takes the bottle from you and takes a sip before handing it back to you.

You offer the bottle to Bucky, which he takes with a smile.

“So you guys been chasing dames all over the city.” You say in a light-hearted manner.

“Something like that.” Bucky pipes up with a laugh, as he hands the bottle back to you.

You take the bottle back and look over at Steve who looks like he’s blushing and ducking his head.

“Well I’m sure you knocked them off their feet.” You say with a smirk.

“Nah, there’s no need to knock anyone off their feet just yet.” Bucky says holding out the bottle to take another swig.

You can’t help but laugh at Bucky’s bantering with you, you feel more comfortable around both Steve and Bucky now then you did before; as the night progressing into the early hours of the morning.

The three of you find yourselves sitting on a couch on the balcony chatting about your past experiences and stories, waiting for the sun to rise over the trees.

For once you don’t feel the itch to place the rings back on your fingers, which makes you smile even more; knowing that you feel completely safe with Steve and Bucky on either side of you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shot me a comment and let me know if you like the chapter :)


	66. Chapter 65

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the kudos and comments :)  
> It means a lot and keeps me going with this story :)

Steve’s POV

 

The conversation flows easily between the three of you, as time ticks by while you’re all looking at the stars; but what brings you back to reality after a while, is when Bucky asks (Y/N) a question and he gets no answer from her.

“(Y/N)?” you say turning to look at (Y/N) to check if she’s okay.

“Oh.” You say when you see (Y/N) fast asleep between you and Bucky on the couch.

“Well Stevie, seems we managed to talk (Y/N)’s ear off so much so, that she fell asleep.” Bucky whispers with a snigger.

You give Bucky a genuinely happy smile “(Y/N) must really trust us, to be this vulnerable with only us next to her.”

“I got to agree with you on that one.” Bucky replies, with a smile plastered on his face “For what it’s worth, this night turned out to be one of the best ever.”

You nod in agreement “I have to say I never saw our night ending with (Y/N) sleeping between us.” You say in a timid voice.

Suddenly (Y/N) shivers, but doesn’t wake up.

“Maybe we should move her inside Buck.” You pipe up in a concerned tone.

“I think we should be fine, just quickly get a throw from one of the couches inside to cover (Y/N).” Bucky says in a calm voice.

Not wanting to let this happy and tranquil moment end, you rush inside quickly and grab two throws from the couches and bring them outside.

Draping both over (Y/N)’s sleeping form, you take your seat next to you again only a little closer; so your body heat can help keep her warm.

Bucky follows suit and shifts closer to (Y/N), both of you getting comfortable and watching the stars in the sky; while you talk about the good old days with the Howling Commandos.

But eventually Bucky and you start to go quiet, as the conversation winded down; both of you yawning and allowing sleep to overtake you; the last thing you can remember is your arms and Bucky’s arms wrapping around (Y/N) protectively as both of you drift into unconsciousness.

 

\----------------------

 

Sam’s POV

 

You make your way into the common room, after having searched Steve and Bucky’s apartments for them and coming up empty.

“Where the hell are those two old timers?” you mutter to yourself while walking through the common room in a hurry.

Noticing a piece of furniture and some throws missing from the common room, you pull FRIDAY into your quest.

“Hey FRIDAY, any particular reason why there’s a couch and throws missing from the common room and I can’t find Steve and Bucky?” you ask in a curious voice.

“I believe that Captain Rogers and Sergeant Barnes moved said couch and the throws outside onto the balcony.” FRIDAY responds in a casual tone.

‘I wonder what that’s about.’ You think to yourself, as you make your way over to the windows that face the balcony.

You can make out the tops of both men’s heads over the back of the couch, their heads leaning towards the middle of the couch; as the first rays of the sun start to peek over the trees tops.

So as stealthily as possible, you sneak outside, pulling your phone out of your sweat pants to take a picture of the two old timers sleeping in later than they usually do.

As you round the couch, your heart stop; and a wide smile spreads across your face as you see the vision before you.

Lying nestled in the middle of the couch is (Y/N), fast asleep with Steve on the left side and Bucky on the right of her; each of their heads leaning on (Y/N)’s head, Steve’s left arm and Bucky’s right arm bracketing her in-between them keeping her warm.

Though you have to hold in a chuckle; when you see empty liquor bottle on the coffee table.

You unlock your phone and pull up the camera feature, turning off the all sounds and flash before you take a couple of pictures.

Walking back into the common room, you send the best picture off to the group with the caption ‘Seems the old people can’t keep up with us young people anymore ’

Deciding that it’ll be better to stick around the common room to see what happens, you quickly head out to the kitchen to throw some breakfast together for yourself, before plonking your ass onto a single seater couch to watch television.

Suddenly you hear, hurried footsteps in the corridor; so you set down your bowl of cereal and turn to see the whole team rushing into the common room, in different states of dress.

“Tell me you photo shopped that picture, Wilson.” Tony states in a giddy tone.

A smirk spreads across your face, as you cross your arms over your chest “How much are you willing to bet Stark?”

“Never mind.” Tony responds as he moves over to the windows.

The whole team, quietly make their way onto the balcony to witness the phenomenon for themselves before coming back inside.

Everyone decides to have breakfast together in the common room while watching a movie; waiting to see what happens when (Y/N), Bucky and Steve wake up.

“This is going to be an interesting morning.” Clint says with a chuckle.

“You’re telling me, I can’t wait to see what (Y/N)’s going to do; if she wakes up first.” You say with a snigger.

“Brother Wilson, are you saying that Lady (Y/N) would harm Steven and James, should she awaken first?” Thor asks in a concerned manner.

“Nah, man... As far as (Y/N) showing and allowing any affection is rare; so she might feel vulnerable when she wakes up, to find both Bucky and Steve holding her.” You say in a casual tone.

“Should we not wake Steven and James then, so they may move away from (Y/N)?” Thor asks you with interest.

“Thor, sometimes you need to allow a situation to happen.” You reply in a kind voice.

The conversation abruptly ends when Tony threats to let loose the Iron Legion to keep everyone quiet if he doesn’t get silence to enjoy the rest of the movie.

The group meets each other’s gaze, before falling completely silent; turning their full attention to the movie currently on the television.

 

\---------------------

 

Reader’s POV

 

You feel warmth enveloping your body and face, as you gently open your eyelids still feeling groggy with sleep.

Looking round as your eyes adjust to your surroundings, you realise that both Bucky and Steve are sleeping on either side of you; but what really gets your attention is how you’re cocooned in a throw, with both men encasing you with their bodies.

Shifting a little you manage to get both hands free, rubbing your eyelids with the heels of your hands; you yawn.

Looking ahead you see the rays of sun starting to shine over the tree tops; ‘Oh right we’re going to watch the sun rise.’ You think to yourself.

As gently as you can you turn your head towards Steve and gently stroke your finger from the bridge of his nose to the tip a few times as you whisper into his ear “Hey sleep head, you’re going to miss the sunrise.”

Steve slowly stirs from his sleep, shifting a little as he opens his eyes to look at you; giving you a big goofy smile.

“Morning (Y/N).” Steve says in a sleepy voice.

“Morning Steve.” You reply with a smile on your face “Let me watch Bucky up, so we can all watch the sunrise together.”

Steve gives you a little nod but doesn’t move from his place.

Turning your head in the opposite direction, you shift a bit looking at Bucky’s peaceful face; before you gently caress his cheek and whisper in his ear “Bucky?”

Bucky shifts and tightens his grip on you “Come on Bucky, don’t you want to watch the sun rise with me and Steve?”

Bucky stirs from his sleep a little with a grumble, so you chime in “Don’t make me stick my finger up your nose.” You state with a laugh.

That seems to make Bucky chuckle as he opens his eyes and looks at you with a smile.

“Really (Y/N), that’s the best threat you can come up with?” Bucky whispers as he yawns.

Steve seems to be sniggering next to you “Any threat that (Y/N) makes should be treated as dangerous.” He states in an amused voice.

“I’m glad that someone recognises danger when they see it.” You chuckle getting comfy again as you look over to the tree line, as the sun rises a little higher.

Both Bucky and Steve shift around a little, still keeping their arms draped around you, as they turn their gaze to the sun rising; and you feel too comfortable to make them move away from you.

The three of you stay silent, you eyes amazed at the colours that shade the sky as the sun climbs higher and higher.

“So, what are you guys getting up to today?” you ask in a casual voice; while still keeping your gaze on the sky.

“I’ve got nothing planned for today.” Bucky says in a relaxed tone.

Steve suddenly sits up straighter and looks over at Bucky.

“Steve what’s wrong?” you ask in an anxious voice.

“Damn it, Buck, we forgot that we were going to meet Sam for a morning run.” Steve stammers in an infuriated tone.

“Well I’m sure Wilson, can survive without us running with him; God knows he’ll be thrilled that he doesn’t have to hear ‘On your left’.” Bucky pipes up with a laugh, not moving an inch away from you.

“It’s okay Steve, I’m sure Sam made alternative arrangements.” You say in a kind voice “sometimes you need to take some time for yourself.”

Steve sighs before getting comfortable again; you turn to look at him, giving him a bright smile; which he returns in a heartbeat.

“It’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed the sunshine.” You say in a gentle tone, turning your gaze back to the sunrise.

“Well if you ever want company, you just have to ask and we’ll be here.” Bucky whispers; keeping his eyes on the sky before looking over at you.

You smile at Bucky, before looking over at Steve who gives you a nod in agreement with what Bucky had said.

You look back to the sky and sigh, closing your eyes, enjoying the feeling and warmth of the moment.

After a while as if on cue, your stomach growls loudly; which makes both Bucky and Steve laugh out, but you get revenge when both their stomachs also growl.

“Well clearly, it’s time to get up and have breakfast.” Steve states with a chuckle.

“Yeah, I could really go with a full breakfast today.” You say with a smile, as you stretch out on the couch.

“Hey, why don’t you have a shower and Steve and I will take you out for breakfast.” Bucky pipes up with a broad smile.

You give him a sceptical look, furrowing your eyebrows.

“I swear we’re not trying to take you on a date (Y/N).” Bucky quickly says putting his hands up in surrender.

Looking from Bucky to Steve, you mull over the invitation for a moment and you make a decision “Okay, why not. But I’m driving myself.” You say in a confident tone.

“That’s perfectly okay with us.” Steve says with a smile “Bucky and I need to put more miles on our bikes before Tony tries to tinker with them anyway.”

You can’t help but laugh at Steve’s comment, which in turn makes both men laugh as well.

“Well alright then, let me help you guys put the couch and throw's back inside and we can go get freshened up.” You say with a smile.

Both Bucky and Steve get up and each offers you a hand, to help you up from the couch.

You look at both men, and place each of your hands into theirs; your hands are so much smaller than theirs, which makes you chuckle to yourself.

“Anything you want to share?” Steve says with amusement written all over his face, as Bucky looks at you curiously.

“Nothing really, just laughing the how each of your hands covers my hands completely.” You say with a smirk.

Steve and Bucky burst out laughing at that, as they gently release your hands.

“I promise we’ll always be gentle with you.” Bucky says with a wide smile.

“That’s good to know, for when I kick both your asses on the sparring mat.” You say with a laugh, as you turn around to pick up the throws to take inside.

Bucky and Steve move to pick the couch up, as soon as you make your way to the door; you hold the door open as they shuffle inside and stop in their tracks.

“What’s the holdup, guys?” you say in a relaxed voice.

“Um, nothing...” Steve says in a concerned tone.

You squeeze in behind the couch that Bucky and Steve are still holding; when you realise what they’re both looking at.

Practically the whole team is in the common room, lounging around watching a movie; well at first glance, they are.

They were keeping tabs on the three of you, and what made it worse; was Tony giving you that evil, devious smirk.

Taking a deep breath, you meet Bucky and Steve’s gaze “I’ll meet up with you guys in a while.” You say in a casual voice, hoping to keep both men calm.

“Morning everyone.” You say in a cheerful tone, as you walk past the team.

You had planned on putting the throws back in their rightful places, but Tony had to go and open his big mouth.

“So (Y/N), how did it feel to sleep with Capsicle and Frosty?” Tony teases you with a shit-eaten grin on his face.

You turn slowly, giving him a death glare as you make eye contact; which makes Tony jump out of his seat and back away slowly.

“Ah, come on sweet cakes; I was just kidding around.” Tony whines, moving closer to the wall panels.

“Stark... If you run now, you know what will happen when you get home right.” You say in a dangerously low voice, that makes Tony shiver.

“You literally know that I have no filter, don’t ruin a good morning.” Tony states in a calm tone as he can muster.

You look at him intently; you can feel the air tense with what your response will be.

“Alright... One more word about the balcony and I will trash all your suits.” You say in a sweet voice, watching as Tony nods in agreement “And I don’t mean your Armani suits.”

That makes Tony’s eyes widen, at your last comment.

“Okay fine, I swear on my Iron Man suits, that I won’t say anything about the balcony.” Tony concedes with a sigh, walking back to the couch and taking a seat.

Everyone in the room is still silent at the whole exchange; looking at you in shock and amazement.

“Well, I’ll see everyone later.” You say with a smile “Steve, Bucky, I’ll meet you both in the garage.”

“Yes Ma’am.” Steve and Bucky say in unison as they place the couch they were still holding in its rightful place.

You leave the common room and make your way to the stairs, not wanting to wait for the elevator; once you’re inside your apartment, you head over to your dresser and placed your binding rings in the draw where all your jewellery is kept and placing your phone on the dresser.

Stepping into your closest, you decide on what outfit to pick for your breakfast with both super soldiers. Walking out of the closest, you had selected a little blue pair of denim shorts, a black tank top with the Avengers logo on it, as well as a comfortable pair of black knee high black boots.

Making your way to the bathroom, you had a quick shower, brushed your teeth and combed out your hair, setting your hair in the style you enjoyed best.

Back in your bedroom, you get dressed at a comfortable pace; until your phone buzzes; grabbing your phone you see a message from Nat.

‘I little makeup would bring out your eyes and lips ’ Nat’s message states.

You can’t help but laugh, at her suggestion; so you take her advice this time and sit at your vanity, pulling out eyeliner, eye shadow, mascara, lip liner and lipstick. Working quickly, you manage to make yourself look natural, but with a tinge of flare to give you that ‘pop’ effect.

Getting up, you put your phone, bank car and driver’s license in the pocket of your short; looking yourself over in the mirror quickly, you are happy with how you look.

You step out of your apartment, and head towards the elevator; which happens to arrive on your floor as you’re about to press the button. The doors open to reveal Nat and Wanda standing in the elevator looking at you with smiles.

Sighing deeply, you get in the elevator and press the button for the garage level.

“I’m guessing you’re here to fish?” you say in a relaxed tone, looking at both women.

“Nope.” Nat states with a broad smile.

“We just wanted to say, just have fun and enjoy yourself.” Wanda says in a serene voice, a gentle smile spreading across her face.

“And if you need us, just send me a text and we’ll be there in a heartbeat.” Nat says with a chuckle.

You look at both women and smile, pulling them both into a hug.

“Thank you, Nat and Wanda, that means a lot.” You say in a quiet tone, just as the elevator dings and the doors open to the garage level.

You let go of both women and head out of the elevator, seeing Bucky and Steve leaning against their motorcycles with a smile.

“Hey.” Nat shouts from the elevator.

You turn around and look at her in confusion, but Nat wasn’t looking at you; following her gaze, she was looking at Bucky and Steve.

“You better look after her.” Nat states in a crisp tone.

Both Bucky and Steve look at Nat and give her a nod in agreement.

Shaking your head, you head over to the security with all vehicle keys and get the keys to your 2015 Ford Mustang GT Hennessey HPE 750 Supercharged (wrapped in black mat) making your way over to your car.

“So you’re taking the beast out today?” Bucky says with a smirk.

“Hell yeah, I am. I have missed driving my babies around.” You say with a laugh, unlocking the car “You guys lead the way.”

“Sure thing (Y/N).” Steve says with a smile, as he and Bucky mount their bikes and turn the ignition key, roaring their engines to life.

You give them a sly smirk and turn your ignition key, revving the engine and looking over at both men; who give you a surprised look.

Gesturing with your hand, the guys lead the way out of the garage and off the compound; heading towards their favourite diner, where they had had a late dinner last night.

When they stop at a robot intersection, both Bucky and Steve in front of you, with you behind in the mustang; a random guy pulls up on your left and tries to get your attention.

So you press the button for the car window to go completely down.

“Is there something you need?” you ask in an amused tone.

“Hey sweetheart, do you know what to do with that car?” the guy shouts at you, before laughing at you “Chicks like you should be at home, cleaning; not driving cars like that.”

You notice Bucky and Steve turned around to confront the guy, but you motion for them to move over to the side; before you answer this self centred asshole; who has no real concept of how to treat a car.

“Tell you what kid, if you can beat me to the next robot intersection; I’ll hand you the keys and deed to my car.” You say with a deadly sweet smile on your face.

Steve pulls up next to your open window “(Y/N) I don’t think that’s a good idea.” He states in a concerned tone.

“Steve I can handle, this idiot.” You say with a laugh.

“Keep dreaming you dumb bitch.” The guy shouts at you.

Bucky simply calls Steve over to where he is on the side near the pavement, watching this with an amused look on his face. Steve reluctantly makes his way back to Bucky, watching with a frown on his face.

“So do we have a deal or not big mouth.” You say with a sweet innocent smile.

“Hell yeah, we got a deal.” He shouts at you.

Turning back to look at the robot, you hear the guy revving his engine excessively; which makes you smile.

‘Time you show this boy, how real people drive.’ You think to yourself.

The robot turns green and you’re off like a bat out of hell, the guy is still sitting at the robot intersection pulling off and smoking his tyres; clearly, he forgot to take the handbrake off.

You make it to the next robot intersection in a couple of seconds, both Bucky and Steve pull up on either side of you; Bucky is laughing having enjoyed the scene that had played out, but Steve looked a little worried.

“I think I’m ready for breakfast now, after my warm up.” You say with a laugh.

“Alright Evel Knievel, let’s get you some breakfast.” Bucky says with a chuckle.

The three of you make it to the diner in one piece and with no more smart asses bothering any of you in the way; you park your car next to Steve and Bucky’s motorcycles.

Steve leads the way to the entrance of the diner and holds the door open for you and Bucky, you thank Steve for the gesture and follow Bucky and he leads the way to what you assume is their usual spot in the diner.

A young man comes over with menus, greets Bucky and Steve, and introduces himself to you as Nick.

“Yeah, Nick is Sally’s youngest son.” Steve says with a friendly smile “Sally is the co-owner of the diner with her husband.”

“Oh wow, if Steve is singing praises, I’ll have to take it as a serious compliment.” You say in a sweet voice, giving Nick a smile “It’s nice to meet you Nick, I’m (Y/N).”

You offer your hand to Nick, which he takes with enthusiasm; shaking your hand vigorously, which makes you chuckle.

“Sorry, sometimes I get over excited.” Nick says in a shy tone, a light blush spreading across his face.

“Oh that’s okay Nick.” You say with a smile.

Nick rubs the back of his neck, as he looks at the floor; the blush on his cheeks getting darker.

“Hey Nick, think we could get some drinks?” Bucky says in an amused tone, looking between you and Nick “Before you try to flirt with (Y/N)?”

At that last comment from Bucky, Nick turns 5 shades darker of red in embarrassment.

“I... Um... Sure... What can I get you guys?” Nick stammers, still feeling somewhat humiliated.

“Nick its okay; I’m just pulling your leg.” Bucky says in a gentle voice, hoping to calm Nick down.

“Nick don’t mind Bucky, he’s just being a punk.” Steve says with his trademark Captain America smile “I think Bucky and I will have our usual to drink.”

You take a quick look at the drinks list on the menu “Nick, please could I get a chocolate milkshake?” you ask with a sweet voice.

“Of course you can.” Nick says with a shy smile on his face.

“Thank you so much, Nick.” You respond with a friendly smile.

Nick quickly scurries off to process the drinks, before Bucky could torment the poor boy any further.

“Bucky you are a menace to people sometimes, you know that?” you say with an exasperated voice, though it falls short; when you smile at him.

“I got to keep the kid on his toes.” Bucky replies with a mischievous smirk.

“That’s troubling to hear.” Steve pipes up, shaking his head with a sigh.

“How about you tone it down, and if you manage to behave; I give you a surprise.” You say with a smirk.

That seems to catch Bucky’s attention, though Steve seems to be a little confused on the direction that the conversation is going.

You look over at Steve and see his facial expression, and you quickly correct yourself “Steve don’t worry I’m not going to kiss him or anything like that, I promise.” You say with a laugh.

That seems to ease up Steve’s confusion and lets out a laugh, which causes Bucky to pout for a moment before he bursts out laughing with you and Steve.

Nick arrives with everyone’s drinks, placing them in front of each person; therefore he takes the breakfast orders from Steve and Bucky, who both say they’ll have their usual.

This gets your attention, so when Nick turns his attention to you for your food order you pipe up “I’ll have whatever these two are having.” You say with a sly smile.

“(Y/N) you sure you want to do that?” Steve asks in a concerned voice.

“Steve, I’ll be fine; give me a little credit here.” You say with a smile.

Nick quickly reads the order back to all of you and disappears into the kitchen.

“You sure you can handle what Steve and I eat for breakfast (Y/N)?” Bucky states in a curious tone, a smile playing on his face.

“Tell you what, if I can’t finish my breakfast; I’ll wash both your bikes.” You state in a casual tone, taking a sip of your milkshake; the milkshake is absolutely delicious, taking you back to the 1940’s when you had stayed in New York for a period of time.

Both Bucky and Steve smiled at the look on your face, seems they know the feeling.

“Makes you think of the 40’s, doesn’t it?” Steve asks in an interested tone.

You nod your head “How did they manage to get the recipe exactly like back in the day?” you ask in an astonished voice, this time taking a longer sip than before.

“Sally’s husband’s family were the original owners of this diner, so the family recipes got handed down from father to son or daughter.” Steve states in a warm smile.

The three of you do a bit of casual chit chat about little things, when Nick arrives with the food, well Nick and three other waiters that is, since all the food that three of you ordered was a gobsmacking amount.

“Nick, could I trouble you for another milkshake please?” you ask with a smile, you just couldn’t get enough of the taste.

“Sure, thing (Y/N).” Nick says with a smile and rushes off to get a new milkshake ready for you.

Bucky and Steve wait for you to first dig in to breakfast before following suit, you look at the spread just for yourself and you find yourself smiling; there’s 6 fried eggs, tons of bacon, a huge stake of pancakes with whipped cream, syrup and broken pieces of chocolate, at least half a loaf worth of buttered toast, a dozen hash browns.

Both men look up at you when Nick brings your milkshake to the table.

You thank Nick, and proceed to dive into your spread with gusto; which seems to catch Bucky and Steve off guard.

Looking up at Bucky and Steve, you swallow your mouthful “You guys okay?” you ask with quirked eyebrows.

“Um, yeah.” Steve stammers out, as he takes a sip of his drink.

“We’re just enjoying the sight of you, eating breakfast like we do; well eating the spread that we do.” Bucky states with a warm smile.

That makes you laugh “Thanks for the compliment Bucky.” You say with a smile, before digging into your food again.

Breakfast becomes a quiet matter, as everyone enjoys the food; which each person at the table manages to finish.

“Well, I’ll take back my concern.” Steve pipes up with a laugh, as he looks at you.

“Told you not to worry.” You say with a smile.

“So, since I haven’t been a menace towards Nick; what’s my surprise going to be?” Bucky asks in curiosity.

You turn around and get Nick’s attention for the bill, which he nods his understanding, but stops and looks past you; as you turn back to Bucky and Steve, you look suspiciously at them.

“Should I even ask?” you say warily at both men.

“Nope, we’re ready to go.” Bucky says with a smile.

“But we need to pay.” You say in a bothered tone.

“It’s already sorted out.” Steve says with a kind smile on his face.

“I’m guessing that arguing won’t make a difference?” you say with a sigh.

“Nope, our ma’s would turn in their graves, if we let you pay for breakfast; especially when we were the ones to invite you out.” Steve states with a laugh.

The three of you make your way outside after saying goodbye to Nick, who assorted you that the bill was already paid and his tip as well.

Once you get to your car, you turn and look at both Bucky and Steve.

“Thank you for breakfast guys.” You say with a smile.

“It was our pleasure (Y/N).” Steve states in his Captain America voice.

“Where you headed now?” Bucky asks you in interest.

“Well, I was hoping you’d both follow me; since I did promise you a surprise and I think I should share my surprise with both of you.” You say in a nonchalant voice.

“Sure, we’d love to.” Bucky and Steve say in unison, causing you to laugh at them; which in turn gets them laughing at themselves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So where do you think the reader should take Bucky and Steve?  
> Let me know in the comments section.


	67. Chapter 66

Nat’s POV

Seeing (Y/N) sleeping peacefully with Bucky and Steve on either side of her, was just plain cute; not that you would openly admit that, for fear of being called a softy.

You’re the first one to notice movement from the balcony but refrain from saying or doing anything to alert the team. ‘(Y/N) should get to feel like any other woman for once.’ You think to yourself, snuggling closer to Bruce on the couch you’re sharing with Wanda and Vision.

Out of the corner of your eye, you make out Bucky and Steve helping (Y/N) up from the couch; as (Y/N) grabs what looks like throws and makes her way over to the door connecting the balcony and the common room.

(Y/N) doesn’t look in, and you hope that everyone remembers to keep their mouths shut about the three of them sleeping on the balcony together.

Bucky and Steve stop in their tracks when they meet the teams gaze, you look casually at them for a moment and look back at the television, where the movie Tony had decided on was still playing.

You look over at the door, when you hear (Y/N) voice “What’s the holdup, guys?” (Y/N) says in a relaxed voice.

“Um, nothing...” Steve says in a concerned tone.

Turning your attention back to the television, only catching a glance from the corner of your eye, you watch (Y/N) squeeze in behind the couch that Bucky and Steve are still holding.

Casting your eyes over the team inconspicuously reveals that nearly the whole team save for a select few including yourself are openly looking at Steve, Bucky and (Y/N); though what really gets all your attention is the look that Tony is giving the three of them.

If only Bruce wasn’t holding you right now, you’d hit Tony upside the head for his blatant staring; ‘God damn it, Tony.’ You think to yourself, with a feeling of utter frustration against the billionaire.

You turn to look at (Y/N) properly when she greets the team, you return her greeting with a smile; which you extend to Steve and Bucky and you meet their gazes.

Just as you think that this moment would run smoothly, Tony ruins the whole moment.

“So (Y/N), how did it feel to sleep with Capsicle and Frosty?” Tony teases (Y/N) with a shit-eaten grin on his face.

You frown at Tony, as Bruce holds you tighter and whispers “Not do it, Nat, let her work it out herself.”

You look at Bruce and give him a small nod, but as you turn your gaze back to Tony and (Y/N); you can’t help but smirk when you see Tony getting out of his seat, and backing away from the whole team.

“Ah, come on sweet cakes; I was just kidding around.” Tony whines, moving closer to the wall panels.

“Stark... If you run now, you know what will happen when you get home right.” (Y/N) says in a dangerously low voice.

You look over at Bucky and Steve, as they watch (Y/N) looming closer to Tony, as Tony tries to save himself.

“You literally know that I have no filter, don’t ruin a good morning.” Tony states in a calm tone as he can muster.

Smiling at Steve and Bucky, you look back at (Y/N) as her gaze intensifies as she locks eyes with Tony.

“Alright... One more word about the balcony and I will trash all your suits.” (Y/N) says in a sweet voice; which makes you snigger along with Wanda and a couple of the other team members.

Looking at Tony, you watch as Tony nods in agreement “And I don’t mean your Armani suits.” (Y/N) finally, clarifies; Tony’s eyes widen, at (Y/N)’s last comment ‘Well damn, I think she may have gotten Tony to shit his pants.’ You ponder in wonder.

“Okay fine, I swear on my Iron Man suits, that I won’t say anything about the balcony.” Tony concedes with a sigh, walking back to the couch and taking a seat.

You all stay silent at the whole exchange; you gaze at (Y/N) with a look that expresses your approval and admiration.

“Well, I’ll see everyone later.” (Y/N) says with a smile to the whole team.

Turning her attention back to both super soldiers (Y/N) states “Steve, Bucky, I’ll meet you both in the garage.”

“Yes Ma’am.” Steve and Bucky say in unison as they place the couch they were still holding in its rightful place.

Everyone watches as (Y/N) leaves the room, presumably to go to her apartment, to get ready.

You can’t seem to keep your feelings inside anymore and blurt out “Nice one, Tony.”

Steve and Bucky, continue to place the couch in its original spot, before walking out of the common room together.

“What did I do?” Tony pipes up in indignation.

“How about the fact, that you ruined a perfectly good moment for them…” you say with your arms crossed over your chest.

“All I did was ask if (Y/N) had enjoyed sleeping between the old men.” Tony said with a pout “Nothing to really die over.”

“Bearing in mind that (Y/N), expresses the minimal amount of emotions and feelings around us; even less then I do.” You snap with a snarl “We literally saw her at her most vulnerable moment, and you just had to bring it up; in front of the whole team.”

Tony sighs and shakes his head “Fine, maybe I’ll admit that my tact left much to be desired.” Tony says in a contrite tone.

“That’s the understatement of the century, Tony.” Bruce says in a tired voice.

The whole team looks at Tony and he seems to almost crack under their gazes “Okay, okay.”

“How about I throw an awesome party to make up for my mistake?” Tony says with a big smile, his playful side coming out.

“Wrong way around Tony.” You say in an exasperated tone.

“Tony, maybe try to apologise to (Y/N) first, then maybe see about a ‘small’ party.” Bruce says picking up on your mood.

Tony’s facial expression changes to one of contemplating, before he swiftly gets up from his seat on one of the recliners and walks out of the common room, typing furiously on his phone.

‘That’s Tony for you.’ You think to yourself, shaking your head and turning your attention back to the movie that is nearing the end.

\------------------------

Tony’s POV

Walking away had never been a thing for you, but right now; it was the best option unless you really wanted to fulfil that death wishes you had once before.

Not that Loki would mind, finally getting a chance to end what he started in Stark tower when he attacked New York; though remembering that scenario made you chuckle when you think of the footage Jarvis had on the drive of the Hulk swinging Loki around like a ragdoll.

‘Now back to the matter at hand.’ You think with determination.

Finally, you get into your lab and take a seat.

“FRIDAY, get me, Miss Potts.” You say in a casual tone.

A video feed appears in front of you, with Pepper looking back at you.

“What is it, Tony? Please tell me you haven’t created another crazy bot…” Pepper states in a concerned voice, her eyebrows furrowing in suspicion.

“Ah, come on Pep… That was one time.” You whine, pouting your lips at Pepper.

“Thank god it was only the one time. Now what do you need, I’m in the middle of a meeting.” Pepper says in an efficient tone.

“I need a favour Pep.” You say in an overly sweet voice, giving her your trademark smile.

“What? Besides, running your company for you?” Pepper says with an evil smirk.

You can’t help but laugh, Pepper always knows how to give, as good as she gets at the best of times.

“I need help planning a party.” You say in a sincere voice.

“Tony, please not another party…” Pepper states in exasperation “It was a hell of a time, cleaning up media coverage after the last one.”

“Ah, come on Pepper, hear me out.” You moan “I want to have a party to celebrate my female driver winning the competition a couple months back.”

“I was wondering why you didn’t organise that party sooner.” Pepper says in a tired voice.

“Well (Y/N) was out of action, I couldn’t very well have a party without the whole tea to celebrate it?” You say in a matter of fact tone.

“Fair enough… So you want all the glitz and glam right?” Pepper says in resignation.

“Not quite.” You say with a smile, which seems to catch Pepper’s attention “I wanted to make it more (Y/N) friendly if you get my meaning.”

“You’re going to have to elaborate a little more Tony.” Pepper says, giving that piercing gaze that excites you.

“I wanted to let (Y/N) enjoy a night from different time periods, so like music, food, drinks, deco; the works.” You state in excitement, your hands waving a little in the air.

“And what’s the deadline?” Pepper asks as you watch her quickly scribble something down on her notepad.

“What… You’re not fighting me on this one?” you ask in surprise, you had been ready put fight for the right to have this party; especially since it was for (Y/N).

“No, because of as much as you would love a party; I can see that you’re doing this solely for (Y/N).” Pepper says with a broad smile “Which means that I’ll make it happen, so when do you want this party to happen?”

“Thanks, Pepper.” You say with earnestness and affection “Next week, should be good, it’ll give me enough time.”

“Alright, I’m going to get going before you grow a heart.” Pepper says with a chuckle.

“Love you too Pep.” You say with a laugh, watching as the video feed is disconnected.

‘God I love that woman.’ You think to yourself, as you move over to your workbench to get some work done; but that doesn’t last long when Bruce walks in.

“Hey, Tony.” Bruce says in a kind tone.

“How you doing Brucie?” you ask in a curious voice.

“I’m alright; Nat’s gone off to the gym with Sam to blow off some steam; after your comment in the common room.” Bruce says in a nonchalant tone, as he makes his way to his workstation.

“Oh... Right.” You say not wanting to stir the pot any further than you already had today “Well I’ve asked to organise a party for (Y/N).”

“Tony, you know she hates parties even more than I do.” Bruce says in an exasperated voice.

“Brucie, I promise I did good; the party is indirectly for her. We’re celebrating the win my female driver had at NASCAR a while back.”

“Does (Y/N) know what you’re planning?” Bruce asks with concern, a frown working its way into his face.

“Hold up Brucie, please don’t Hulk out on me. I’m going to tell (Y/N) about it, once she gets back from her dat...” you force a cough, before you continue “I mean, once she gets back from breakfast with Capsicle and Frosty.”

“Maybe start off with having a family dinner, so everyone is on the same page, Tony.” Bruce says with a small smile, as he turns towards his paperwork.

“Oh, that is a perfect idea Brucie.” You state with a smile.

“FRIDAY, please can you order dinner for the whole Avengers team, from that awesome Italian place in Manhattan that I like?” you ask in a somewhat distracted tone, as you decide to work on the ammunition for (Y/N)’s guns.

“Of course Boss, anything in particular or the full menu?” FRIDAY’s crisp voice is heard over the PA system.

“Let’s do the whole menu, make sure to order enough since we have growing kids on the team.” You say with a chuckle, as you look over at Bruce to see him shaking his head; as he works on some equations.

“Oh and don’t forget to have someone setup everything up as well.” You say before giving your full attention back to your little project to get (Y/N)’s forgiveness.

“Yes, Boss.” FRIDAY states in a neutral tone.

\----------------------------------------

Reader’s POV

You keep an eye on Bucky and Steve as they follow you along the road.

‘I wonder if this is too soon?’ you ponder to yourself, a bit of doubt creeping into your mind.

But as you look at your rear-view mirror, the looks on Bucky and Steve’s face dispel your second guessing this decision. Making your way to a slip road, you can see a gate ahead of you; pressing a button on your dashboard console opens the gate and you drive through, ensuring that Steve and Bucky make it in before the gate closes.

There’s a building up a few metres in front, driving through the tunnel, you smile as you make your way onto a beautifully maintained track; stopping your car and getting out, you see both Steve and Bucky park their bikes on the grassy area.

“So this must be your little hideaway.” Bucky says with a smile.

“Yip.” You say with a smirk “This is where I can just drive and not have to worry about anything or anyone.”

You watch as Steve admires the whole place, Bucky walks over and leans aside your bonnet.

“So how did you find this place?” Steve asks in curiosity.

“I found this little gem about three years ago, even once I had joined the Avengers; I’d sneak away to get some release.” You state with a sense of nostalgia.

“But how the heck do you manage to keep the place so speck and span?” Bucky asks with a quirked eyebrow.

Shaking your head and sigh before you reply “Well you know Tony, he has this thing about knowing where people are; so one day he had FRIDAY track my movements and he rocked up here while I was racing.”

Both Steve and Bucky look at you in surprise, which made you smile; because no one could really sneak up on you.

“Needless to say, Tony saw my talent; and after a lot of arguing and many threats on my part. Tony decided to buy this track and keep it off the books, making sure it was maintained, so I could just enjoy something for myself.” You say with a smile, as you remember that memory.

“So I’m guessing he also asked you to drive for him?” Steve asked in an intrigued manner.

“Yes, that’s right Steve; he practically begged me to, and eventually I caved and agreed to race for him.” You say in a reserved tone; you were giving away a bit too much about yourself.

“Hold up a minute, so every time you win; he gets the money?” Bucky asks you in shock, his eyebrows raised as he looks at you.

“No, no Bucky. Neither of us keeps the money...” you say going a bit quiet, but Bucky and Steve just look at you with uncertainty; so you quick continue “Both of you have to promise not to tell anyone about this.”

Bucky and Steve both look at you with their best smile “Of course, (Y/N).” They both say as they nod.

“There is a place for orphans and the elderly, normal humans and mutants alike. So every penny I win with my racing goes straight to them, so they can be looked after.” You say, not making eye contact with Steve and Bucky.

You stop talking and look down at your feet, feeling a little uncomfortable that you’d shared a very secret part of your life with them.

“(Y/N)?” Steve says in a timid voice.

Slowly you look up and look at Steve and Bucky, they’re both smiling at you; which makes your chest feel a little tight.

“Thanks for sharing an important part of you with me and Buck.” Steve says in a cheerful tone.

“It’s really great what you’re doing for those people.” Bucky chimes in, his smile getting wider “Have you meet any of those people or are you an anonymous donator?”

“I know them...” you say in a serene tone “I usually visit them whenever I have time off and I’m not on a mission.”

“(Y/N), I’m glad you have other activities and things that are important to you in your life; besides fighting and avenging.” Steve states with a sweet smile.

“Thanks, Steve, and you too Bucky; I’ve always held my cards close to my chest, not wanting people to know too much about me.” You say looking up at the sky “But I feel like this is right, and I think I can trust you both to keep my secret.”

Looking back at Bucky and Steve, both of them are smiling at you and nodding in agreement.

“But on to more exciting things, so who wants shotgun with me on my first couple of laps?” you say with enthusiasm, grinning at both men.

“I’m so up first, I think you might make Steve here sick.” Bucky says in a cocky tone, smirking as Steve shoves Bucky as he laughs.

“Alright then, Bucky get in.” You say with a wicked smile, as you quickly walk over to Steve and whisper in his ear “I promise I’ll take it easier on you.”

Steve looks at you and chuckles, as he meets your eyes.

You turn around and make your way back to the driver’s side and get in the car, putting on your seatbelt before you start the car.

Looking over at Bucky, you notice he hasn’t put on his seatbelt “Bucky I think you forgot something.” You say in an amused tone.

“Like what.” Bucky asks with a smile.

“In this car, seatbelts are mandatory.” You say in a serious tone.

Bucky looks at you with a disbelieving look on his face; which makes you narrow your eyes and frown at him. Noticing that you weren’t smiling at all, makes Bucky quickly buckles himself in and then looks at you to see if you were happy.

Your frown disappears and a broad smile appears which makes Bucky chuckle.

“What’s so funny Bucky?” you say in a nonchalant tone, as you start your car.

“It’s nothing.” Bucky gives you a charming smile before he starts chuckling again.

“Are you sure? Is there nothing you need to get off your chest just in case you die today?” you ask in curiosity.

“I think I’ll survive.” Bucky states in an amused tone, as he looks at you.

You don’t say a word, as you put the drive into gear and speed off onto the track; as Bucky sucks in a deep breath.

The car increases in speed as you open up the engine on the track; you watch Bucky’s facial expressions change with all your skills being demonstrated on the track; while Steve watches from the sidelines.

After a while, you slow it down and stop the car next to Steve and Bucky’s bikes.

Bucky quickly unbuckles himself and jumps out of the car, running onto a small patch of grass and vomits.

You get out of the car and walk over to Steve who is watching Bucky.

“Hey Bucky, are you okay?” you ask in concern.

Bucky gives you a thumbs-up, as he slowly straightens up and looks at you with unbelieving eyes.

“How do you not get sick (Y/N)?” Bucky asks in an amazed tone.

“Bucky remember that I’ve been doing this for quite a few years; so for me, it’s become completely natural.” You say with a smile.

You walk over to the boot of your car, opening the boot you open a small built-in cooler box and pull out a bottle of water; making your way over to Bucky, you hand him the bottle which he gratefully takes and downs half of the content.

“So Steve, are you ready to come for a ride with me?” you say with a smirk.

“Um… Maybe I should pass.” Steve says in a timid voice, as he looks down at his feet.

“Ah, come on you punk; it’s was so much fun.” Bucky states with a huge smile on his face.

You walk over to Steve and wait for him to make eye contact with you before you speak.

“Steve I promise I’ll take it easy on you.” You say in a kind tone.

“You promise?” Steve asks in an innocent voice, which makes you feel a little empathy for him.

“I promise Captain.” You say with a chuckle.

“Hey, that’s not fair!” Bucky protests in indignation.

“Would you have enjoyed the ride, if I hadn’t driven like I did in the competition?” you ask in a stern voice, as you look over at Bucky.

“No.” Bucky replies before he takes another sip of the bottled water.

“Okay, Bucky just take a break while I take Steve for a spin.” You say with a smile, making your way back to your car, with Steve trailing behind you.

Once you’re back in the car, Steve gets in and buckles up before you do; once you’re ready you look at Steve and give him a smile.

“You ready to have a little fun?” you ask in an enthusiastic voice.

Steve seems to think over your words for a few moments “Yeah… Yeah, I am.” Steve states in a shy tone.

“Alright then, let’s put a couple miles on this baby.” You say with a chuckle and pull off onto the track.

This ride is different with Steve than it was with Bucky.

Bucky was happy to sit in silence and enjoy the ride, watching you take pleasure in driving fast.

Steve, on the other hand, likes to ask questions about why you do a specific move or how you know when to adjust and account for exact changes with the track and the car.

You find yourself enthralled by the questions Steve asks, but he seems just as enthralled by your answers and mindset.

After you come to a complete stop, Steve gets out of the car and walks over to Bucky; who had been watching with intrigue.

You turn off the ignition and get out the car and open the boot, taking out three bottles of water and a few packs of chips for you guys to snack on before heading back to the compound.

As you get near Steve and Bucky, they both dash forward to help you carry the bottles and snacks; the three of you decide to sit on the cement barrier that surrounds the track, enjoying the snacks and water.

The three of you watch as the sun gets lower in the sky, as the afternoon starts drawing to a close; while you three chat about funny situations that you each found yourselves in.

Once the snacks were eaten and the water was finished, Steve grabs the rubbish and finds a bin to throw everything in.

“I’m guessing we should head back before the team sends out a search party.” Steve says with a small smile.

“Yeah, that’s all we need, after what happened this morning.” You say with a laugh, making your way over to your car.

“Hey (Y/N)…” Bucky tries to get your attention, you hmm in response; turning around to look at Bucky and Steve.

“Why’d you fall asleep with us on the couch last night?” Bucky asks in an interested tone.

Your immediate instinct to be suspicious, but the look on Bucky and Steve’s face; seems to make you relax a little.

Taking a deep breath you reply “Well I thought maybe I should give you guys a chance at being my friends, as in that we can actually do stuff together without my binding rings pushing you both away.” You say with a smile.

Both Steve and Bucky look at you, a little surprised.

“Thank you for giving us a chance (Y/N).” Steve says with a sweet smile on his face.

“We won’t take advantage of the trust you’ve put in this friendship.” Bucky states as he walks up to you, spreading his arms out.

You eye him, with a quirked eyebrow; which makes Steve laugh.

“You can have a hug if it’s a group hug.” You say with a chuckle on your lips.

Steve and Bucky both laugh and the three of you hug, you enjoy the feeling of their body heat against your body.

After a few moments, you pull away and look at both men.

“Okay, I have a challenge for you both.” You say with a mischievous glint in your eyes.

“Oh yeah, and what’s that?” Bucky pipes up with a grin on his face.

“Last one back to the compound cooks dinner.” You say with a laugh, running over to your car and getting in.

Both Bucky and Steve rush over to their bikes and mount them, as you start your engine and speed off towards the entrance; Bucky and Steve tailing you from behind.

After the three of you exit, the building; Bucky and Steve pull up on either side of your car and you press the buttons for the windows to go down.

“You know bikes always beat cars right?” Steve shouts for you to hear above the roar of the car and bike engines.

“We’ll see about that Rogers.” You jokingly tease.

“(Y/N), you know I could go for some steak and mash potatoes… Oh and homemade gravy too.” Bucky teases you back.

“Well, I’m sure one of you will make an awesome steak, mash and gravy dinner for me.” You chime in and give both men an evil look and speed off leaving them to figure out where you went.

You laugh to yourself, knowing that you’d get back, first; you’d learned of all the shortcuts to get back to the compound when you first found the track.

So it was just a matter of how Steve and Bucky could figure out how they were going to use their advantages to beat you.

‘Let the fun begin.’ You ponder to yourself.


	68. Chapter 67

One Week Later

“Come on Nat, I don’t want to go shopping…” you whine, as Nat throws off your blanket; leaving you in just your boy leg panties and a black thin strap top.

“It’s already ten O’clock in the morning (Y/N).” Nat states in an amused tone “Wanda is waiting for us downstairs; so you better get out of this bed before I make you.” Nat threatens as her tone goes from amused to stern in seconds.

Taking a deep breath, you open one eye and see Nat looking at you with suspicious eyes; giving Nat a broad smile you respond “Okay, okay Nat, I’m getting up. Just give me fifteen minutes to freshen up and I’ll meet you both in the garage.”

“Fifteen minutes, if you’re not down there; I’m coming after you and you won’t like me then.” Nat states with a mischievous smirk on her face.

“Yes mom, duly noted.” You say with a chuckle and climb out of bed only to have Nat push you back onto the bed and rush out of the room with a laugh.

“She is a damn nuisance sometimes.” You mutter to yourself.

“Well, that’s Nat for you.” You hear a voice say, looking around you don’t see anyone.

Looking up to the ceiling you realise the source of the voice “Clint if you don’t get away from the vents in my apartment; I’m going to climb up there and castrate you.” You say in an intimidating tone.

“Okay, okay I’m leaving; it won’t happen again.” Clint practically pleads as you hear the shuffling in the vents.

Making your way over to your closest you, pick out your clothes for the day and hear into the bathroom.

After having a quick shower, drying yourself off, brushing your teeth and getting dressed; you quickly run your fingers through your hair, slip on your flat pumps and rush out the door heading to the elevator.

Once you’re inside the elevator, you press the button for the garage and relax as the elevator heads down towards your destination; only it stops a couple of floors before the garage and as the doors open, Steve, Bucky and Sam walk into the elevator greeting you in unison.

“So, where you off to?” Sam asks you with a broad smile.

“You know damn well where I’m being forced to go Wilson.” You say with a grumble.

“I’m sure it won’t be that bad (Y/N).” Steve says with a sweet smile.

“Speak for yourself, you don’t have Nat literally wanting to dress you like a Barbie doll.” You say in an exasperated tone.

“I’m sure you know how to say no (Y/N)>” Bucky states with a chuckle.

“Yeah you guys have all the luck, just put on a tux and be done with it.” You say as the elevator doors open on the garage level and there waiting is Nat in her car and Wanda in the passenger seat.

“Well, see you guys later.” You say with a sigh, making your way out of the elevator.

You feel two hands close around each of your wrists, turning your head slightly you see it’s Bucky and Steve.

“You gonna be, okay?” Steve asks in a concerned voice.

“I should be fine guys if I’m not; I’ll just give Nat free rain and I’m sure she’ll be ecstatic about it.” You say with a small smile.

“If you need saving, just give us a ring.” Bucky says with a big smile, his eyes shining.

“I’ll remember that.” You say with a chuckle, as they both release your hands and you make your way to Nat’s car.

Getting in the car, Nat speeds off out of the garage; out the compound and onto the road.

Neither you nor Wanda had any idea where Nat was taking you both, but knowing Nat you knew it was going to be a whole day thing and it would be expensive places and clothes.

You look out the window, and you feel yourself cringe a little; the place was a monstrosity.

“Nat please tell me you’re joking.” You ask with quirked eyebrows as you made eye contact with her.

“Don’t judge the place before you’re even had a chance to experience it.” Nat says with a stern voice “For once you’re going to enjoy this gift from Tony.”

“(Y/N) you know that Tony is trying to apologise for his mistake last week.” Wanda says in a sincere tone.

“Yeah I know, but still spending unnecessary money; is just ridiculous.” You state in frustration “I could have done my own hair and make-up, and used one of my dresses in my closet.”

“Well now, that just won’t do.” Nat says with a smirk “This party is especially for you and you’re going to enjoy the hospitality that Tony is showing you.”

Nat climbs out the car as the valet comes over to her side to help her out, a second valet opening the passenger door to let Wanda out, and then to help you.

The man gives you a big smile, which makes you respond with a simple nod and a ‘thank you’; before you walk off to catch up to Natasha and Wanda.

Once you’re inside the building, your eyes go wide; there is everything available in this place.

Nat walks over to the reception counter and gives her name, to which the lady quickly calls over an assistant to take the three of you to their VIP section that had been closed off to the public for the day.

“Nat, should we start off with picking out dresses, shoes and jewellery first?” Wanda asks in an excited tone.

“Yeah, that would be best; we’re going to get ready here and the limo will pick us up to take us to the venue for the party.” Nat says in a matter of fact voice.

The assistant, who is leading you guys, opens a door and there is an outrageous amount of garments to select from, colour, styles and different lengths that have your mind working overtime.

“Okay ladies, please feel free to look around for anything that catches your eye; and I will be by the door should you need me.” The assistant states in a professional manner.

You watch as Nat and Wanda move through the racks with purpose and speed looking over the options, but you find yourself just feeling a little out of place; you were never one for fancy parties even in the good old days.

After a while you feel someone, standing next to you; turning your head you see Nat looking at you with concern written all over her face.

“You okay?” Nat says.

“Yeah, I just spaced out. This really is way too much for me.” You say looking at everything in the room.

“I tell you what, why don’t you let me pick your outfit; the hairstyle, etc and you just enjoy watching Wanda and me find what we are going to wear?” Nat says with a friendly smile.

“And I’m guessing you won’t let me see myself in the mirror until we’re ready to leave?” you ask in a knowing tone.

“Will you trust me, if you don’t like it? You don’t have to attend the party; I’ll even drive you home myself.” Nat states in an overconfident voice.

You look at Nat in suspicion, but you drop the subject all together ‘Might as well, entertain her.’ You think to yourself.

“Alright fine.” You say in a resigned tone.

“So just one question, what colour do you like today?” Nat asks in a curious voice.

You think about it for a moment and reply “I think blue would be a good choice.”

Wanda comes over with a few dresses in her arms and a huge smile on her face; low and behold they’re all blue.

“So you both decided to work together?” you say with a scoff.

“(Y/N) I could sense your discomfort, from the time you walked out of the elevator at the compound.” Wanda says in a timid voice.

“We just want to make this as painless as possible for you.” Nat says with a smile “Now let’s get you to try these options on.”

Shaking your head at both women, you follow them to the fitting room and of course, there’s not a mirror in sight.

‘This should be fun.” You ponder with a sigh and get undressed.

\-------------

Steve’s POV

Watching (Y/N) walking away to get to Nat’s car, gives you the feeling of butterflies in your stomach ‘How the hell do I feel, like that skinny guy again...’ you think to yourself.

“Hey, Steve. You coming or not?” Sam yells from the elevator, that’s he’s been holding open for you.

“Oh, sorry Sam.” You say as you rush back into the elevator, Bucky nudges your shoulder with his.

“You okay punk?” Bucky teases you.

“Yeah...” you reply, looking down at your feet for a few seconds before looking at Bucky.

You guys make it to the kitchen for breakfast, the rest of the males on the team are already eating breakfast.

“Glad you three could finally join us.” Clint says with a mischievous smile.

“Why, what happened?” Bucky asks; suspicion is evident on his face.

“Oh nothing, you need to be worried about Frosty.” Tony says in a nonchalant tone, as he punches Clint in the arm.

“Yeah, I’m totally gonna believe that Stark.” Bucky states in a casual tone, making his way over to the cabinet; grabbing two mugs and pouring coffee for him and for you.

“Thanks, Buck.” you say in a kind voice, taking the offered mug.

“So what is everyone up to, today?” you ask in curiosity.

“Well since the girls are getting a day out, before the party. I thought we could have our own day as well.” Tony says with a broad smile.

“Why do I suddenly feel worried?” you respond, concern littered in your voice.

“Oh it’ll be fun Capiscle, I promise.” Tony replies as he smacks his hands together to get everyone’s attention “So, just so everyone’s confused we’re leaving in the next 10 minutes.”

“Tony, we can’t just stop our schedules; just to go out.” You state in a somewhat annoyed tone.

“Actually yes you guys can; I had FRIDAY re-schedule your diaries to clear today.” Tony states in a matter of fact tone before he rushes out the kitchen “I’ll see you guys in the garage.

You take a deep breath and sigh before you move to sit down on a barstool.

“I know the feeling Steve.” Bruce says in a timid voice.

“I’m guessing nobody had a choice with Tony’s decision.” Bucky says in strangely calm tone.

“Did we ever have a choice?” Loki says in an exasperated tone “We live in Stark’s compound, so there’s no winning here.”

Loki gets up and leaves the kitchen, followed by Thor and T’Challa.

“So, what is up with you two and (Y/N)?” Clint asks in an interesting voice, looking between you and Bucky.

“We’re just hanging out and getting to know each other as friends.” You say in a reserved tone, draining the last of your coffee; before you place the mug in the sink.

“That can’t be it; the three of you spend time together every day.” Sam says with a Cheshire cat smile.

“Actually you guys have no room to talk because the whole team spends a little time with each other every day that we’re in the compound.” Bucky pipes up, as he places his mug in the sink as well.

“Now that’s just trying to blindside the question Clint is asking.” Sam says with a laugh.

Before you can say anything else FRIDAY’s voice comes over the PA system.

“Gentlemen, Mr Stark has stated that if you do not make your way to the garage immediately; he will release the Iron League to retrieve you.”

“FRIDAY tell Tony, we’re on our way.” You say, effectively ending any attempt for Clint to get an answer out of you or Bucky.

Clint and Sam quickly finish scoffing down their food, while you and Bucky make your way to the elevator; keeping the door as Clint and Sam run towards the elevator.

“So what do you think the girls are up to for the day?” Sam asks with a smirk.

“If I know Nat, and I’m pretty confident I do; they’re having a whole day spa experience.” Clint states with a laugh.

“Well as long as they have fun, that’s all that matters.” You say with a smile.

“Right, because (Y/N) takes frequent trips to spas every week?” Sam says as he bursts out laughing “I’d bet that she’ll just let Nat do whatever she wants.”

“(Y/N)’s more resilient than that Wilson.” Bucky pipes up.

“Oh yeah, what are you willing to bet?” Sam says with a broad smile.

“I’m totally agreeing with Sam on this bet.” Clint chimes in with a smirk.

“Fine, if Steve and I are wrong; then we’ll both ask (Y/N) for a dance at the party tonight.” Bucky states in a confident tone, as the elevator doors open and everyone exits, getting into the van with Tony mumbling something about ‘Finally’.

*** Four Hours Later ***

“Tony this is really too much.” You say with a sigh.

“Actually not Capsicle, everyone needs a tailor-made suit; especially if you’re going to be asking (Y/N) for a dance.” Tony says with a Cheshire cat grin.

“Clint and Sam...” you state in a defeated voice “You guys aren’t going to drop it are you?”

“Nope, but to be fair; we won’t breath a word to the girls.” Tony says, patting you on the back before the assistant makes the last adjustments to your suit.

“Hey, Steve?” Bucky states in an uncertain tone.

You turn around and nearly stop breathing when you look at Bucky.

“Buck, you cut your hair and shaved.” You say in a shocked voice, Bucky looks almost exactly the same as he did in the 40’s.

Bucky looks down at his feet, almost like his uncomfortable with himself.

“I didn’t mean it as a bad thing, I swear.” You say raising your hands in surrender “I didn’t think you wanted to cut your hair.”

Tony takes this moment to leave the room, effectively leaving you alone with Bucky and the assistant; who tells you that you can take off the suit and he’ll have the alterations done immediately.

Once you put on your jeans and shirt, you look over at Bucky who’s sitting on one of the couches; which you decide to take a seat as well in hopes of him opening up a bit.

A few moments in and Bucky says “I just thought that (Y/N) would like to see what I looked like back in the good old days.”

“I think (Y/N) will like you, as long as you’re happy with yourself.” You say in a sincere voice, giving Bucky a pat on the shoulder.

“So you’re going taking a black suit and blue shirt?” Bucky says, in an effort to change the subject.

“Yeah, the female assistant on the floor was adamant that it would bring out the colour of my eyes.” You say with a shy smile.

“Let me guess, she tried to sweet talk you.” Bucky states with a chuckle.

“Something like that.” You say in a vague tone, not wanting to relive the discomfort of the young lady’s unwanted advances “And what colours are you going for Buck?”

“Well the older lady, thought a redshirt would go with my black suit; but I told her that I’d like something a little tamer. So I’ll see what she chose for me once I try on the whole outfit.” Bucky says with a shrug.

Just as you’re about to respond, Clint comes into the room “Hey guys, you coming to eat? Lunch has arrived.”

“Yeah, we’re coming now Clint.” you say with a sigh, pushing yourself off the couch, as Bucky does the same.

“I’m sure you’re going to sweep every girl off their feet tonight.” You say with a broad smile, placing your arm around Bucky’s shoulders as you both make your way out of the room.

*** Another Four Hours Later ***

After a day of being pampered, picking out dresses, shoes, jewellery, hairstyles and make-up options; you all have a shower and start the process of getting ready for the party, that was already starting without you three.

“Come on (Y/N), Wanda and I are waiting for you.” You say with a smile on your face.

You had worked extra hard to make sure, that (Y/N) really loved beyond beautiful tonight; she needed a night to feel a like a princess, even though (Y/N) didn’t like to get any attention at parties.

“I’m coming, give me a minute.” (Y/N) yells from the room that she is getting dressed in.

A few minutes later, (Y/N) exits the room and your eyes widen at how gorgeous (Y/N) looks. You had picked the right hairstyle from the 1940’s that accentuated her facial figures, and the make-up really threw (Y/N) back in the 40’s style that was all the rage back in the day.

“(Y/N) you look breathtaking.” Wanda whispers, as she runs up to hug (Y/N).

“So do you, Wanda, Vision is going to blush when he sees you, even though you won't be able to see it.” (Y/N) states with a smile.

You walk up behind Wanda and take (Y/N)’s hand after Wanda pulls out of the hug.

“Nat you look drop dead gorgeous; you’re going to give Bruce a heart attack.” (Y/N) states with a laugh.

“Well, that’s what I was going for.” You say laughs with you “Okay close your eyes, so I can lead you to a mirror.” You say with a friendly smile.

(Y/N) simply nods and closes her eyes; you take both of her hands and slowly lead her to the middle of the room, where there are mirrors, for her to see what she looks like.

Once you had placed (Y/N) on the right spot, you tell (Y/N) to open her eyes, as you step back.

“Oh, Nat...” (Y/N) exclaims in shock, her hands covering her mouth.

“You don’t have to thank me, but I just want to know one thing.” Nat says with a smile “Do you still want to go to the party, or would you prefer to go home?”

(Y/N) looks at you and chuckles “You’d swear that by now I would know better than to doubt you; but every time you never cease to amaze me with your skill for dressing me up.”

“Well what kind of friend would I be, if I didn’t make you look as beautiful as you truly are on the inside?” you say with a Cheshire cat grin “So am I right, in saying that you’re going to the party with Wanda and me?”

“Well after all the hard work you put in, it’s the least I can do.” (Y/N) says with a chuckle.

There’s a knock at the door, which gets everyone’s attention.

“Come in.” You say with an authoritative tone.

A young female assistant opens the door and walks in “Miss Romanoff, the limo has arrived.” The young lady states in a timid voice and hurriedly leaves the room when you give a nod in acknowledgement.

“Shall we get going?” Wanda asks in a curious voice, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

You look at (Y/N) and waiting patiently for her answer.

“Yes, I think Tony might have a heart attack if we’re later than him.” (Y/N) states with a laugh.

You join in the laughter with Wanda, as the three of you make your way out of the building; where the limo is waiting out front.

The driver of the limo opens the door and assists each of you into the limo before he runs around the limo to the driver’s side and gets in.

Making your way through the city to your destination, you can’t help but smile at (Y/N)’s form; she looked more relaxed right now than she had in the years you had met her.

‘Hopefully, she would have some fun tonight.’ You ponder to yourself.

You’re brought out of your thoughts, as your phone buzzes with a message.

[Hey Nat, are you guys close?] Clint’s message is displayed on the screen.

[Yeah, we’re close.] You respond.

“Trouble?” (Y/N) asks in an inquiring voice.

“Nah, the guys just want to know if we’re close.” You say with a smile.

(Y/N) laughs at that, which gets Wanda giggling and you chuckling; after the three of you manage to get your laughter under control, you realise the limo has stopped outside the building where the party is being hosted.

The driver gets out of the door and rounds the car in record time to help the three of you out of the car, making your way into the building without much fuss; since most of the media had dispersed as they didn’t get VIP access to the party.

Making your way into the elevator, you press the button for the top floor where the party is being held.

Once the elevator doors open on the top floor you and Wanda exit first, with (Y/N) following behind.

You quickly scan the room and see Clint making his way over to you with Vision in tow, giving him a smile you quickly lay eyes on Steve and Bucky who are talking with Sam and Thor.

Both men look over at the elevator and look at you, to which you smile at them before looping your arm with Clint’s and descending the steps to join the crowd of people.

You keep a close eye on Bucky and Steve as they get a glimpse of (Y/N) standing at the top of the stairs looking over the room.

The look on their faces was priceless, their eyes were wide taking in (Y/N)’s appearance from head to toe.

“I got to know Nat, did you get her dressed up; or did (Y/N) put her outfit together?” Clint asks with a smirk.

“(Y/N) wasn’t feeling it, so I helped her out.” You say in a nonchalant tone “Why?”

“Oh nothing, just Bucky and Steve took a bet with Sam and me; and they lost big time.” Clint chuckles to himself.

“How bad did they lose?” you ask with a smirk.

“Oh let’s just say, that you will actually get to see Steve dance tonight and Bucky as well.” Clint snort trying to stop himself from laughing anymore.

As you reach the bar with Clint you see Bruce sitting quietly in the corner nursing a drink, you gently pat Clint on the arm in thanks.

Clint lets you walk over to Bruce as he disappears into the crowd to mill with the guests.

“Well hello, handsome.” You whisper in Bruce’s ear, causing him to turn around in surprise.

“Nat...” Bruce stammers “You look... B-beautiful... I mean you always look beautiful...”

You can’t help but smile and gently peck Bruce on the peck before sitting down next to him “Thank Brucie. Though, if you’re stammering after seeing me; you should see (Y/N).”

Bruce looks at you with quirked eyebrows, so you turn him in his seat and point to where Tony has just joined (Y/N) at the top of the stairs and is escorting her into the crowd of people.

“Wow Nat, you really outdid yourself.” Bruce says with a smile.

“It was nothing; (Y/N) gave me free rain; so she didn’t get to see anything until she was ready to leave.” You say with a smirk.

“Well, I’m sure Bucky and Steve will thank you and curse you at the same time.” Bruce says with a chuckle.

“Clint said something about Steve and Bucky dancing?” you ask with a curious tone.

“Yeah, apparently Sam and Clint said that you would get free rain with (Y/N) looks tonight; so if they were right, both Steve and Bucky would have to ask (Y/N) to dance.” Bruce says is a smile, shaking his head before he takes a sip of his drink.

“Well, I can see that turning out for the best.” You say with a confident smile “How about you take me for a spin on the dance floor?”

Bruce looks at you with uncertainty “I don’t know Nat.”

“Come on Brucie, it’ll be fun. Just one dance and I won’t pester you again for the rest of the night.” You say with your ever charming smile.

Bruce shakes his head and gets up from his seat, looping his arm with yours, and leads you to the dance floor.

Now Bruce may not be the best dancer around, but you love to let him lead whenever you can get him to agree to dance with you; since he still feels somewhat out of control because of the Hulk.

Once you’re both on the dance floor, Bruce unloops his arm from you and turns around; placing a hand around your waist and offering the other for you to place your hand in his.

The feeling of butterflies in your stomach sparks to life, as you place your hand in Bruce’s and it feels great to just be normal; well as normal as an Avenger could get in this world.


	69. Chapter 68

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys sorry this chapter took so long, I was having a hell of a time trying to get my mind to focus and write something decent enough for everyone.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter :)

Reader’s POV

You take a deep breath as you step out of the elevator, Nat and Wanda having stepped out before you.

As Vision escorts Wanda down into the crowd of people, and Clint does the same with Nat; you find yourself scanning the room from one side to the other looking for anything out of place.

However, you’re slightly distracted when you lay eyes on Bucky and Steve; dressed to the nines in their tailor-made suits and you find yourself smiling at them as they make eye contact with you, their eyes grow wider as they gaze at you.

You find yourself a little shocked that Bucky cut his hair and shaved, you had never seen him like this; well except for the pictures that were taken in the 40’s and you find yourself smiling at Bucky and Steve, as they kept eye contact with you.

But before they could make their way over to you, Tony appears in front of you a little tipsy at this point.

“Hey sweet cakes, you look drop dead gorgeous.” Tony says with a mischievous smirk.

“Thank you, Tony, you don’t look too bad yourself.” You say in a nonchalant manner.

“Oh come on, you know I’m the sexiest looking guy in the room.” Tony states with a fake pout.

“Well, that remains to be seen, Tony.” You say with a chuckle, making Tony frown at you and then laughing with you.

“Well how about I convince you with a dance?” Tony states with a smile, wriggling his eyebrows.

“Alright Casanova, let’s see what you’ve got.” You say in an amused tone.

Tony offers his arms to you, looping your arm in Tony’s; he leads you down the stairs onto the dance floor, making the crowd of people part, to give you two room on the floor.

Just then the band switches the tempo to a slow pace, as Tony turns around to clasp his hand in yours and place his other hand on your lower back.

Tony takes the lead in a waltz, which you happily consent to; allowing Tony take you for a spin around the dance floor, while everyone watches and ‘Oh’s’ and ‘Ah’s’ at you and Tony.

“So how’d you like the party so far?” Tony asks in a curious tone, giving you a big smile when you look at him.

“You trying to get praises already, I haven’t even been here 5 minutes.” You state with a laugh.

As Tony spins you around you make eye contact with Bucky and Steve standing just behind the crowd, watching you dance with Tony and you smile feeling a little flutter in your stomach.

Once the dance comes to an end, Tony takes your hand and leads over to the bar and orders a drink for you and him.

You take a seat to rest your feet for a while since Nat chose a pair of stiletto’s that were higher then you’re used to wearing.

The bartender hands you a drink and gives you a smile before moving across the bar to a couple that caught his attention.

Taking a sip, you smile ‘Tony always has the best bourbon, at his parties.’ You think to yourself, not paying attention to the two people standing behind you.

You’re pulled from your thoughts by a cough, turning around you see Steve and Bucky standing there; with their most charming smiles on display.

“Good evening gentlemen.” You say with a sweet smile.

Tony looks over his shoulder and briskly gets off his barstool “I’ll see you later (Y/N) and save me another dance.” Tony states with a smile and rushes off to wrap himself around Pepper.

“Are these seats taken, Miss?” Bucky asks in an innocent tone, pointing to the barstools on either side of you.

You can’t help but chuckle, at Bucky trying to use his 1940’s charm.

“No, there doesn’t seem to be any fellas interested in my company tonight.” You with a smile, slowly bringing your glass to your lips taking a sip, while keeping your eyes on both men.

Steve blushes slightly at your comment and Bucky smiles at you; his eyes shining with mischief.

“Well, the men in this room would have to be blind, if they’re not interested in you.” Bucky pipes up with a Cheshire cat grin.

“Would you mind if we joined you?” Steve asks in a timid voice, shifting his gaze to the floor when you look at him.

“Of course you can Steve and since Bucky was being so suave tonight, I think he gets us the next round.” You say with a chuckle.

Steve and Bucky both laugh as they each take a seat on either side of you; essentially blocking you off from anyone else trying to get your attention.

Bucky flags down bartender and orders 3 bourbons for the three of you.

“(Y/N) you look beautiful tonight.” Steve says with a sweet smile, a slight blush still littering his face.

“Thank you, Steve.” You say returning his smile, as you finish your first bourbon just as the bartender places your second one in front of you.

“So, I see that you managed to survive shopping with Nat.” Bucky states with a chuckle, taking a sip of his bourbon.

“Yeah… Um, it was easier to just let Nat take over, I wasn’t feeling it today.” You say with a shrug, taking a sip of your drink.

Looking up at Bucky and Steve, you look somewhat confused; at both men’s facial expressions.

“Something wrong?” you ask with peaked curiosity.

Steve looks at Bucky and meets your gaze “Um… No, everything’s good.” Steve states in a distressed tone.

“Why don’t I believe you?” you say with a smirk.

You have the feeling that people are looking at you, so you turn slightly and manage to find a couple of members of the team looking at the three of you.

As you’re about to ask Bucky and Steve what was going on, Steve gently placed his hand over yours on the counter.

“(Y/N), would you like to dance with me?” Steve asks in a shy voice.

That question caught you off; you had never seen Steve dance with anyone at Tony’s parties; so this was a new development.

“Of course Steve, I would love to.” You say with a smile, allowing Steve to help you off of the barstool.

As Steve leads you to the dance floor, you hear the band playing the beginning of Frank Sinatra’s ‘The way you look tonight’; which makes you smile at Steve, as he turns to face you.

Steve looks a little embarrassed, and you take a bet it’s because he hasn’t danced with anyone; you gently place your hand on his cheek to get his attention.

“Don’t worry about the crowd, pretend they’re not here.” You whisper as you smile at Steve; which seems to get Steve to relax a bit.

You let Steve take the lead in placing your hand on his shoulder and taking your other hand in his, taking the leading step as you follow his lead.

***

Some day, when I'm awfully low,  
When the world is cold,  
I will feel a glow just thinking of you  
And the way you look tonight.

You're lovely, with your smile so warm  
And your cheeks so soft,  
There is nothing for me but to love you,  
And the way you look tonight.

***

Both of you enjoy the moment, while Steve continues to lead; giving you a dazzling smile every time you look at him.

“Steve?” you say, getting Steve’s attention as he meets your gaze again.

“Yeah (Y/N)?” Steve says in a quiet voice.

“Why were most of the team looking at the three of us at the bar?” you ask in interest.

“Um…” Steve mumbles “Yeah, maybe Bucky and I took a bet with Sam and Clint.” He continues to mumble in a low voice.

You furrow your eyebrows at him “Oh really now, and what were the terms of the bet?” you ask with intrigue and a wide smirk.

***

With each word your tenderness grows,  
Tearing my fears apart  
And that laugh that wrinkles your nose,  
Touches my foolish heart.

Yes you're lovely, never, ever change  
Keep that breathless charm.  
Won't you please arrange it?  
'Cause I love you  
Just the way you look tonight.

***

“Basically, if Nat dressed you from head to toe; Bucky and I would ask you to dance.” Steve states in a timid tone “Though Bucky and I had hoped that you would have put up a bigger fight.” He continues with a chuckle.

“Well, there are some days where fighting is pointless; so it’s better to surrender.” You say with a laugh, just as Steve spins you around.

You chuckle as Steve spins you away from his body, catching you with his hand and spins you back towards his body; your breath hitching as your body slams against Steve’s.

You feel a shiver go up your spine, as Steve slowly brings you back up and twirls you around the dance floor.

“You’re so bad at dancing Steve.” You state with a grin, causing Steve to blush.

“Well, you’re a great partner (Y/N).” Steve replies in a timid tone, a smile spreading across his face.

***

With each word your tenderness grows,  
Tearing my fears apart  
And that laugh that wrinkles your nose,  
Touches my foolish heart.

Yes you're lovely, never, ever change  
Keep that breathless charm.  
Won't you please arrange it?  
'Cause I love you  
Just the way you look tonight.  
Just the way you look tonight.  
Darling  
Just the way you look tonight.

***

As the song ends, Steve dips you back keeping eye contact with you; but you slowly close your eyes and allow your head to fall back; exposing your neck to Steve.

After a few moments you bring your head back up, opening your eyes you see Steve’s gaze intently at you; almost making you freeze with what could happen next.

But the moment is lost when the crowd erupts in applause, bringing you both back to the present. Steve gently brings you back up, a light blush on his cheeks.

You smile at Steve sweetly “Thank you, Steve.” You say, gently placing your hand on his left cheek; bringing him closer as you place a chaste kiss on his right cheek.

You watch in amusement as Steve’s eyes got wide in shock, but he quickly catches himself; responding with ‘It’s a pleasure (Y/N)’ and escorts you off the dance floor back to the bar. Once you’re both at the bar, Steve excuses himself with a nod.

Nat and Wanda come rushing over to the bar with Pepper, once you’re sitting on a bar stool.

“Oh, my gosh (Y/N)! That was amazing.” Wanda exclaims in excitement.

You can’t help but laugh a little embarrassed “Well, it was all thanks to Steve leading.” You say with a broad smile.

“It was good to see Steve having fun for once, usually he just mills around avoiding the dance floor altogether.” Pepper states with a smile.

“Well, I think we all know that didn’t have much of a choice with regards to the dancing part.” Nat says with a chuckle.

“Oh, yeah Steve mentioned something about him and Bucky losing a bet.” You say in a casual voice, flagging down the bartender.

“Tony said something about Steve having gotten off easy; before he ran off in the direction of most the guys.” Pepper adds, and suddenly looks a little suspicious “Please excuse me, ladies.” Pepper states before she rushes off.

“I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Tony is up to his usual tricks.” Nat says with a smirk.

Wanda and you burst out laughing, Nat joining in when both of you can’t stop laughing.

“Sorry to interrupt ladies, but would you like anything to drink?” the bartender asks in a timid voice.

Nat immediately pipes up that we need 6 tequila shots; the bartender nods and rushes off to get the shots ready, while you and Wanda calm yourselves down.

Once the bartender has placed the shots on the counter, the three of you thank the young man.

“Nat, are you sure Wanda will be okay with tequila in her system?” you ask in a concerned voice.

“I’ll be fine (Y/N), Vision said he’d keep an eye on me; so nothing will happen to me.” Wanda says in an excited tone.

Just as the three of you take up your shot glasses, the band stops playing and you hear Tony’s voice over the speakers.

“Hey is this thing on?” Tony asks rhetorically, with most of the crowd answering him anyway “So everyone knows why we’re here?”

The crowd of guests answering ‘Yes’ very enthusiastically, “So once again my amazing driver for the female NASCAR, won for the second year in a row. She went unchallenged except for the cheap shot that was had on the track, but of course, she soldiered through like the champ she is.” Tony states with charisma, igniting the crowd to shout their agreement.

“So it’s only fair that we take a moment to celebrate her driving skills...” Tony continues, but is interrupted by a random guy shouting ‘Where is that sexy ass minx, of a driver?’

“Woah, now buddy, clearly you’ve had too much t drink...” Tony pipes up with a sharp look at the guy in question “Unfortunately, my driver was unable to attend; as she training for her next tournament. So please continue to enjoy the food and drinks, on me.” Tony says with his trademark smile, placing his hand on his chest.

Everyone applauds and shouts their praise, and some muttered words of ‘I can’t believe I waited for nothing...’ before the band strikes up a beat and the crowd disperses.

“Well, that went well.” You say with a laugh, grabbing your shot glass.

“Yeah, those guys over there in the corner were waiting just to meet ‘Tony’s driver’.” Nat says with an evil smirk.

“That’s not all that they were waiting for...” Wanda states in a disgusted tone.

“Wanda...” you say in a calm voice “Are you reading their minds?”

“I don’t really have an option when their minds are literally sex.” Wanda says with a harsh undertone in her voice before she takes her shot and downs it.

Nat gives you a serious look, before taking her shot and moving through the crowd; turning around you take your shot and look at Wanda who is picking up her second shot.

You both raise your glasses and down your respective shots; you missed the sharp sting in your throat and smack your lips together in delight; grabbing your second shot and downing it quickly.

Nat still hadn’t come back to the bar, so you grabbed both of Nat’s shots; handing one to Wanda, both of you downing it in seconds.

Wanda looks out at the dance floor and sees Nat dancing alone on the floor, you turn to follow her gaze and smile.

“Let’s go keep the widow company.” You say with a laugh, making Wanda giggle.

Both of you make your way to the dance floor, to dance with Nat.

\---------------

Bucky’s POV

“God Damnit!” you mutter under your breath in irritation.

For the past hour and a half, you had been trying to ask (Y/N) for a dance; but anytime you got near her, one of the other Avengers would grab her and sweep her onto the dance floor.

You made your way over to the couch where Thor was sitting with Loki, hoping to get your hands on some Asgardian liquor to calm you down.

“Hey, Thor.” You state in exasperation tone.

“What’s the matter Bucky?” Thor asks in a concerned tone, as he takes another sip from his bottle of Asgardian ‘magic’.

“Mind sharing some of that magical liquor with me?” you ask in a defeated voice.

“Of course, it is good to see you enjoying Asgard’s finest liquor.” Thor says in a booming voice.

Loki looks over at Thor and shakes his head, at his brother.

Thor grabs a glass from the coffee table and pours a generous amount into a glass and hands it to you; before he disappears into the crowd of people.

You take a sip, and whines slightly; it’s been a while since the last time you had had this stuff.

“So I’m guessing you still haven’t had any luck, dancing with (Y/N) then?” Loki asks in a curious voice.

“How did you know about that?” you ask with furrowed eyebrows.

“Clearly you haven’t caught wind of Tony’s little prank on you.” Loki says in a somewhat bored tone, looking over to where Tony was spinning (Y/N) around on the dance floor.

“What prank?” you ask in a harsh tone.

“Don’t get mad at me mortal; that anger would be better spent trying to get a dance with (Y/N).” Loki says in a stern voice.

“And what the heck do you think I’ve been trying to do for the past hour.” You state in an annoyed tone.

Loki just looks at you, and says ‘Well clearly you don’t have the right motivation then.”

You watch as Loki gets up from the couch and quick darts between the crowd and asks (Y/N) for a dance, which she seems to happily consent to.

Dropping the rest of your drink, you get up and make your way to the front of the crowd to watch Loki dance with (Y/N); a tinge of jealousy rising in your chest watching the two of them dancing for perfectly together.

You get a little lost in your thoughts while watching (Y/N) dance that you don’t realise that Loki has spun (Y/N) a little too forcibly across the dance floor, causing (Y/N) to spin right into your arms as the song ends.

Looking from (Y/N) who’s a little shocked, to Loki who gives you a sly smirk and bows; taking his leave from the dance floor, you understand what Loki just did for you.

‘Well fuck me.’ You think you to yourself.

“May I have this dance?” you ask (Y/N) with a charming smile.

“Sure, I think I can manage one more dance before I need a rest.” (Y/N) replies with a sweet smile.

You take her hand and lead her into the middle of the dance floor just as the band strikes up the music for Frank Sinatra’s ‘Come Fly with me’.

“What is it with you and Steve asking me to dance, every time Frank Sinatra comes on?” (Y/N) says with a chuckle.

“Maybe Frank’s trying to tell you something.” You state with a chuckle.

***

Come fly with me, we'll fly, we'll fly away  
If you can use some exotic booze  
There's a bar in far Bombay  
Come on fly with me, we'll fly, we'll fly away

***

You hesitate when you realise that your metal hand is going to take (Y/N)’s lower back, you hand a few inches away from her body.

(Y/N)’s hand takes her hand off your shoulder and gently brings your metal hand to her lower back, her eyes meeting yours with the gesture.

“Bucky, I trust you with this hand.” (Y/N) whispers “I know you won’t hurt me.”

You take a deep breath and give (Y/N) a little nod before you both begin to move with the music.

***

Come fly with me, will float down to Peru  
In llama-land there's a one-man band  
And he'll toot his flute for you  
Come on fly with me, we'll float down in the blue

Once I get you up there  
Where the air is rarefied  
We'll just glide  
Starry-eyed  
Once I get you up there  
I'll be holding you so near  
You might hear  
All the angels cheer because we're together

***

“Thank you for dancing with me (Y/N).” You say in a reserved voice.

“Anytime Bucky.” (Y/N) responds with a big smile.

“How about we give them a little show?” you ask with a wicked grin.

(Y/N) gives you a nod, causing your smile to grow; with that consent given you let yourself let loose on the dance floor with (Y/N).

***

Weather-wise, it's such a lovely day  
Just say those words and we'll feed those birds  
Down to Acapulco Bay  
It is perfect for a flying honeymoon, they say  
Come on fly with me, we'll fly, we'll fly away, we'll fly

Once I get you up there  
Where the air is so rarefied  
We'll gonna glide  
Absolutely petrified  
Once I get you up there  
I'll be holding you so awfully near  
You might even hear  
A gang of angels cheer just because we're together

***

The couples around you both, stop dancing to give you both space and to watch in amazement; as (Y/N) and you brought back dancing moves back from the 40’s.

“I think we have an audience.” You say with a smirk.

“Eat your heart out all you none 40’s people.” You whisper with a chuckle, making Bucky laugh as he spins you around on the dance floor.

***

Weather-wise, it's such a groovy day  
You just say that words and I'll beat the birds  
Down to Acapulco Bay  
It's perfect for a flying honeymoon, they do say  
Come on fly with me, we'll fly, we'll fly  
Pack up let's fly away

***

As the song comes to an end, you spin (Y/N) out; and pull her back into your arms and hold her close.

The crowd begins to claps with a lot of catcalls and whistles, making you both laugh and you turn to bow to the crowd.

“I really enjoyed that dance.” You say with a Cheshire cat smile.

“So did I, you and Steve really know how to cut up the dance floor.” (Y/N) says with a laugh.

As you’re about to ask (Y/N) to join you for a drink, a man walks up behind (Y/N).

“May I have the next dance?” the man asks in a polite tone.

You think nothing of it when you give (Y/N) a smile and turn to leave the dance floor.

The band starts up and you catch a bit of (Y/N)’s response ‘What the hell do you...’ which makes you turn around to check on (Y/N).

She’s dancing with the man that you are now extremely suspicious of, catching Steve’s eye across the dance floor; you signal for him to come over, which he does in seconds.

“Hey Buck, what’s up?” Steve asks you in concern.

“Steve, who is that guy dancing with (Y/N)?” you ask in a serious tone.

“I’m not too sure; I remember meeting him earlier this evening.” Steve says, worry laced in his words “Is (Y/N) okay?”

“I’m not sure, I just caught a little of what she said as the band started playing and she wasn’t happy.” You say with a deep frown on your face.

Just then Tony comes over and places a hand on your shoulder.

“Hey Frosty, you feeling jealous of someone else dancing with (Y/N)?” Tony says in a teasing tone.

“Tony, who is that guy dancing with (Y/N)?” Steve asks, not even given you a chance to respond to Tony’s teasing.

“I don’t personally know him; I think he came in for a plus one...” Tony states in a nonchalant voice “Why, do you ask oh ancient one?”

“I think that he might be here to cause trouble with (Y/N).” You interrupt Steve, causing Tony to look at you in shock.

Tony pulls out his phone and quickly checks the guest list, and pulls up a picture of the man dancing with (Y/N).

“Cornel Strucker...” you say with furrowed eyebrows ‘That name sounds familiar.’ You think to yourself.

“This isn’t good.” Steve says in a stern voice, Tony get security ready just in case we need to step in.

“Cornel Strucker... Cornel Strucker... Why have I heard that name before?” Tony says in a distrustful voice.

“Because he caused trouble with the mutants; including (Y/N).” Steve says in a dark voice.

“Oh shit.” Tony states in surprise, clearly the alcohol wasn’t keeping him happy anymore.

“FRIDAY, get me everything you can on one Cornel Strucker.” Tony mutters into his phone “And get the Iron Legion ready just in case we need evac.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So who wants a peaceful exchange between the reader and who wants full-on fight???
> 
> Let me know in the comment section below :)


	70. Chapter 69

Reader’s POV

“What the hell do you think you’re doing here Strucker?” you growl as Cornel Strucker places his hand around your waist and takes your hand in his, and starts to twirl you around the dance floor.

“Is that any way to greet an old friend?” Strucker says with a sneer.

“Strucker, you’re lucky that I haven’t put a knife through your skull.” You say in an infuriated tone “Now what do you want.”

Strucker smiles at you as he continues to spin you around on the floor, much to your annoyance.

“I was hoping to see you and Logan here together, but it seems I missed the memo about you and Logan no longer being together.” Strucker states with a Cheshire cat smile.

“You stay away from Logan.” You snap at Strucker, which seems to make Strucker’s smile grow.

“Oh, have I hit a nerve?” Strucker says in a teasing tone “I saw you with Captain America and the Winter Soldier is that new or is it a passing phase?”

You clench your jaw, trying to keep calm ‘He’s just trying to get you to crack.’ You keep repeating in your mind.

“No answer for me Shadow?” Strucker continues with a smug look on his face “But since I have you silent for once... Logan must feel so lonely without you; maybe I should pay him a visit; considering he is an old friend of mine...”

“If you go near Logan...” you start saying before you see a metal hand on Strucker’s shoulder.

“Sorry to interrupt.” Bucky says in a cool, low voice “I think it’s about time you left.”

Bucky moves to take your hand out of Strucker’s, turning you away from the man trying to make to the balcony.

“I’ll tell Logan you say hello.” Strucker pipes up with a chuckle.

What Strucker wasn’t expecting was for that comment to be the final straw for you.

You push yourself away from Bucky, you rush at Strucker with lightning speed and punch me in the face, your fist connects with such force that Strucker is knocked completely off his feet and lies limp on the floor, with blood coming out of his nose.

You feel a pair of arms around you, holding you securely; Bucky is in front of you trying to get you to keep eye contact with him, but all you can do is look at Strucker with such venom and hatred.

“(Y/N), you need to calm down.” Bucky says in a quiet whisper.

“Bucky, I’m going to take her outside; to let her get some fresh air.” Steve states in a firm voice, making you realise that Steve was the one holding you.

Meeting Bucky’s eyes you give a curt nod, and Bucky nods to Steve; both of them escort you out onto the balcony; as Sam, Clint and Tony attend the scene.

Once you’re outside on the balcony, you shiver from the cold air; Steve gently releases you from his grip and you walk over to the railing looking out at the city lights.

You feel a jacket being placed on your shoulders, turning your head slightly you see Bucky has given you his jacket.

“Thanks, Bucky...” you say in a serene tone.

Bucky gives you his brightest smile and keeps his hand on your shoulder.

“Are you okay (Y/N)?” Steve asks in a concerned voice, you slowly turn around and look at Steve.

“Yeah I’m okay...” you whisper, not knowing how to end the sentence, as you look down at the floor.

“Did he threaten you?” Bucky asks in restless tone.

“No Bucky, he didn’t... He didn’t threaten me... Not directly anyway...” you say with a solemn voice “But he’s going to go after Logan.”

“How do you know Strucker is going after Logan?” Steve asks in an interested tone.

“He basically implied that he would be paying Logan a visit since Logan and I are no longer together.” You say in a frustrated voice.

“Well, I’m sure Logan wouldn’t go willingly with Strucker.” Steve says in a confident tone.

“Did Bucky go willingly with Hydra Steve?” you ask with sadness, causing Bucky to tense and Steve look like a kicked puppy.

“Strucker will always want Logan because Logan was the best weapon he ever got to experiment on...” you say in a knowing tone “All Strucker needs is an Adamantium made gun and bullet; and he’ll have Logan back doing his dirty work, with no memories.”

You’re so focused on your thoughts on Logan’s wellbeing that you don’t notice, Steve, handing you something.  
Upon closer inspection, you notice Steve is handing you his phone; you hold the phone in your hands and look up at Steve.

“Call him.” Steve says in a timid voice.

You look at Steve and then to Bucky, who gives you a nod; which makes you smile.

“Thanks, guys.” You say with as much affection as you can muster at this moment “But Logan won’t take any of my calls, after what I did to him and Remy.”

“Well at least tell the Professor then.” Bucky chimes in with a smile.

“Okay...” you reply and quickly type in the Professor’s number, placing the phone next to your ear as you hear the phone ringing.

“Hello?” you hear the Professor state in a calm voice.

“Hi, um Professor.” You say a little hesitantly.

“(Y/N), how are you? Is everything okay?” the Professor asks in a curious tone.

“I’m okay Professor...” you say in a neutral voice.

“What is troubling you?” the Professor states in a knowing voice.

You sigh deeply before you speak “Professor is Logan still at the school?”

“Yes (Y/N) he is.” Professor Xavier says in a calm voice.

“Please could you ensure that he stays with the Xmen...” you say in a sad voice “Strucker arrived at Tony’s function tonight and basically implied that he would be coming for Logan.”

“I’ll make sure that everyone is safe here (Y/N), you have my word.” Professor Xavier says in a kind but firm voice.

“Thank you, Professor.” You say in a sincere tone “and Professor, please don’t let him know that I told you this news.”

“I’ll be as discreet as possible (Y/N).” Professor Xavier states with a kind voice “Now, I believe you have a party to carry on enjoying.” The Professor states with a chuckle.

“I’ll try my best to enjoy the party Professor, good night.” You say with a smile on your face.

The Professor says goodbye and you end the call, handing the phone back to Steve.

“Thank you so much, Steve.” You say in a kind voice.

“Anytime (Y/N).” Steve says with a smile on his face.

“How about we steal some of Thor’s Asgardian liquor and maybe have a dance or two?” Bucky chimes in with a mischievous grin.

“Only you would want to steal Thor’s drink.” You say with a chuckle.

“Bucky we’re not going to steal Thor’s drink...” Steve states in a stern voice, giving Bucky the stink eye.

Bucky meets your eyes and gives you a pleading look, which has you smiling.

“Ah... But Steve, Bucky just wants to cheer me up...” you whisper in a dejected tone, lowering your head and looking at the floor.

You hear a deep sigh, and look up at Steve hopefully having gotten him to agree with the plan.

“Lord, you are just as bad as Bucky...” Steve states in an exasperated voice.

“Thank you, Steve.” You say with a smile, as you pull Steve into a tight hug.

You feel Steve’s arms wrap around your waist gently, sending shivers up your spine; as he nestles his face into the side of your neck.

“So shall we get this plan underway?” Bucky states with a chuckle, rubbing his hands together.

“Yes, you overly eager mischievous man.” You say looking at Bucky, with an amused look.

Steve lets go of you, with a laugh “So who’s distracting and who’s stealing?”

“Well, what kind of a distraction are we going for?” Bucky asks in a curious tone.

You think it over for a moment before a wide sinister smirk crosses your face.

“Why do I feel a little scared right now...” Steve states in an uncomfortable voice.

“I’ll make it fun then.” You say with a grin.

\-------------

Thor’s POV

You look over at the balcony keeping an eye on (Y/N), after the fiasco of (Y/N) knocking out a guest.

“I hope (Y/N) is alright.” You say in a concerned voice.

“You’re such an oaf...” Loki grumbles “Can’t you see that (Y/N) is smiling with the two super soldiers.”

“There was no need for name calling brother.” You state in a saddened tone.

“Why don’t you speak to her about it, because she is coming this way?” Loki says in a nonchalant voice, taking the last swig from his glass; placing the glass on the coffee table and making his way over to the bar.

You watch as (Y/N) walks back inside from the balcony, Bucky and Steve in tow.

(Y/N) takes a seat next to you and sighs; her eyelids close while she rubs her temples with her fingers.

“Are you alright (Y/N)?” you say in a worried voice.

Slowly (Y/N) opens her eyes and looks over at you.

“Thor, would you mind taking me for a spin on the dance floor?” (Y/N) asks in an innocently sweet voice.

“Of course (Y/N), I’d be more than happy to dance with you again.” you say in an over-enthusiastic tone.

As quick as a cobra strike, you place your bottle of Asgardian liquor on the table without a second thought and get up from the couch; taking (Y/N)’s hand in yours, as you lead her to the dance floor.

“I’m a little surprised that you wish to be away from Bucky and Steve, after the fun you three have been having as of late?” you ask in a curious tone.

“Well sometimes, I need a little space and you are a very good dancer Thor.” (Y/N) says with a wide smirk on her face.

‘Why do I feel like (Y/N) is up to something?’ you ponder to yourself.

The band strikes up a perfectly paced tempo, as you lead (Y/N) around the dance floor; much to the enjoyment and laughter of (Y/N).

It’s good to see (Y/N) having fun at one of Tony’s parties; usually, it was a quick appearance and then a disappearing act, leaving the team to wonder where (Y/N) was.

“So are you enjoying your party?” you ask with a broad smile.

“Well, I haven’t had a party in my honour before.” (Y/N) states with a laugh “Actually that’s a lie... Though, at least the team knows now, so it’s not me and Tony eyeing each other with a knowing smile.”

“You raced superbly (Y/N), I wonder how you would fair on horseback; I’m sure we could use a warrior like you on Asgard.” You say with a charming smile.

“Do you really think that Asgard would want the daughter of Death on their planet?” (Y/N) asks with a quirked eyebrow.

“Well we could always leave out that part...” you say with a shrug and chuckle, when (Y/N) shakes her head.

“So I hear you’re going back to Asgard with Loki in the next few days, something wrong at home?” (Y/N) asks with a gentle smile.

“It’s nothing to worry about, simply a meeting with representatives from the nine realms. We’re all concerned about the surfacing of the infinity stones in such a short amount of time.” You say with a deep sigh, this matter had become more urgent with each stone appearing in quick succession to the previous one.

“Ah, that could pose a serious problem for every realm.” (Y/N) states in a thoughtful tone.

“Let us enjoy this dance, instead of pondering on matters that cannot be solved tonight.” You say with a broad smile.

(Y/N) returns your smile with one of her own, as she snakes her hand from your shoulder up to your neck; making you shiver at the contact.

“(Y/N), what are you up to?” you ask in a confused voice.

“Just having a little fun with Bucky and Steve.” (Y/N) says with a smirk on her face “Let’s spice up this dance a little.”

“Alright, why not.” You say with a charming smile.

You give (Y/N) your complete attention as both of you move more intimately across the dance floor, swaying and slightly grinding your bodies against each other.

As the song ends you slowly dip (Y/N) back, keeping eye contact with her as she chuckles at you.

“Something funny (Y/N).” You ask in an amused tone.

“Well, I think you might have annoyed Bucky.” (Y/N) states with a laugh.

“Why would you say that?” you ask in a curious tone.

“Um... Have you seen how close your face is to my chest?” (Y/N) says with a chuckle, her hand still tight on your neck.

You look lower and realise that her perfect looking breasts were mere inches away from your face, a look of shock must spread across your face; because suddenly (Y/N) seems to laugh uncontrollably as you quickly bring her back up to stand on her own two feet.

“I’m sorry (Y/N).” You say in a somewhat embarrassed voice, even though your smile doesn’t faultier.

“It’s okay Thor; I know you didn’t mean anything by it.” (Y/N) says with a smile “Please excuse me, I need to visit the ladies room really quickly.”

“It was lovely dancing with you (Y/N).” You say in a charming voice, as (Y/N) walks off the dance floor.

You make your way back to where you had left your liquor, only to find that the bottle is nowhere in sight.

Scanning the room to see who might have taken it, doesn’t result in any useful culprits; though what does catch your eye is that Tony is definitely more inebriated then he was before you started dancing with (Y/N).

“Stark...” you grumble as you made your way over to the billionaire.

\---------

Steve’s POV

You and Bucky watch as Thor leads (Y/N) to the dance floor “Buck, I don’t think this plan is going to work...” you say in a nervous voice.

“Come on Stevie; give (Y/N) a little credit here.” Bucky says with a wicked smile on his face.

“If we get caught, this could end badly.” You say with a sigh.

“The only bad that could happen, is that Thor sees us and chases both of us down.” Bucky says with a laugh and turns his attention back to the dance floor to watch (Y/N) and Thor dancing.

Both of you watch for (Y/N)’s signal, as soon as her hand moves up to Thor’s neck; you spring into action.

Quickly getting up from the couch and tripping over your own feet over the coffee table, just as Bucky catches you before you hurt yourself.

Your hand is firmly around the bottle of Asgardian liquor, which you quickly sneak into the inner pocket of Bucky’s jacket.

As the two of you straighten up, Bucky pats you on the back and makes his way over to the elevator; swiftly slipping in while no one is watching, while you make your way over to the toilets.

Walking in, you quickly open the tap and splash a little water on your face; before closing the tap and getting a paper towel to wipe the droplets of water off your face.

You make your way out of the men’s room, to find (Y/N) walking up to you with an evil smile.

“So did you guys get it?” (Y/N) asks with a chuckle.

“Yeah, we got it.” You say with a sigh ‘God Bucky and (Y/N) are going to be the end of me’ you ponder to yourself.

“So you ready to go?” (Y/N) asks with a smile.

“Yeah, I think after that little mission, I could use a break.” You say with a smile.

Both of you make your way to the elevator and get on, pressing the button for the lobby; as the elevator makes its descent to the lobby, you look over at (Y/N).

“Steve, could I lean against you?” (Y/N) asks with a smile.

“Um... Yeah... Sure (Y/N)” you say in a shy tone.

(Y/N) promptly places her hand on your bicep and leans on you.

You feel your cheeks heat up a little, as you watch (Y/N).

“What are you doing (Y/N)?” you ask in a surprised tone, watching (Y/N) lifting her dress with her free hand and lifting one foot.

“I need to get these shoes off, they’re killing me...” (Y/N) says in an exasperated voice.

“Would it be easier if I carried you?” you ask in a timid tone.

(Y/N) stops what she’s doing and looks up at you, and you feel your throat tighten a little.

“If... If you want to of course...” you quickly add in.

(Y/N) gives you a smile and simply nods.

As the elevator dings and the doors open, you find yourself moving in front of (Y/N) and gently lifting her up into your arms, bridal style.

You smile at (Y/N) and hold her close to your chest and make your way out of the lobby and over to the limo that is waiting for them.

“While finally you two...” Bucky pipes up from the car and opens the door for both of you to get in.

You let (Y/N) slide into the back of the limo first and then you follow suit, closing the door behind you.

“Sorry, I was having some fun with Thor.” (Y/N) states with a laugh.

“I’m sure you did (Y/N).” Bucky says with a chuckle “And here’s your prize.” He says handing over the bottle of liquor to (Y/N).

“Driver, please take us back to the compound.” You tell the driver and close the partition, for the three of you to have some privacy.

(Y/N) takes a swig from the bottle before handing it to you, which you take hesitantly.

“Come on Steve, you earned it.” (Y/N) says with a smile “I watched how you made yourself trip over your own feet, just so you could get the bottle.”

You feel your skin warm up a little, and you take a swig and hand the bottle over to Bucky; who takes a longer swig than you and (Y/N).

“This is some good stuff.” Bucky says with a smirk, handing the bottle back to (Y/N).

“I know right, I think we should plan a big heist of Thor’s liquor.” (Y/N) states with a laugh, placing the bottle between her and you.

You and Bucky watch as (Y/N) leans forward and unbuckles her shoes and slips them off for feet.

“God finally my feet can be free again.” (Y/N) states in a relieved tone.

“I can only imagine what you ladies go through to get ready for Tony’s parties.” Bucky says with a wicked smile.

(Y/N) looks over at Bucky and laughs “Well, that’s the standard that the male population set for their view of the perfect women.”

“Well, most men are idiots anyway.” Bucky says with a shrug and lays his head against the back of the seat.

“I think I’m going to get a little shut-eye before we get back to the compound.” (Y/N) says with a yawn.

“That’s alright; I’ll wake you when we get back to the compound.” You state with a sweet smile.

(Y/N) closes her eyes and lays her head on the back of the seat, her body going somewhat limp; as sleep overtook her.

You take the bottle out from between the two of you and take a swig before you hand it over to Bucky to have a sip.

After a few minutes of passing the bottle between the two of you, the liquor is finished and you feel a little light headed.

“Hey, Steve.” Bucky says in a quiet tone.

“Yeah, Buck.” You reply with a smile.

“I’d really like to watch a movie when we get back to the compound, you in?” Bucky asks with a smile.

“Yeah, sure we can.” You say with a broad smile, looking over at (Y/N) who is fast asleep now.

Finally, when the car rolls up to the entrance of the Avengers compound, you and Bucky just don’t have the heart to wake (Y/N) up; so Bucky elects to carry (Y/N) in while you take her shoes and the empty bottle that held Thor’s liquor.

You and Bucky make your way to (Y/N)’s apartment, notifying FRIDAY to open (Y/N)’s apartment door.

Bucky gently places (Y/N) on the couch in her lounge; kneeling down next to her and gently nudges her arm.

“(Y/N)... Come on (Y/N)… We’re home.” Bucky says in a tender voice, which makes you smile at the scene in front of you.

Bucky and you watch as (Y/N) slowly opens her eyes and stretches across the couch; what a sight (Y/N) is to behold as she stretches, her dress dipping a little lower on her chest accentuating her gorgeous chest.

You swallow the knot forming in your throat and cough to clear your throat when swallowing doesn’t help.

Bucky looks at you and starts laughing “Stevie, are you seriously blushing like a Catholic school girl?”

“Shut up jerk.” You pipe up, grabbing Thor’s empty bottle and walk into (Y/N)’s kitchen, throwing the bottle in the bin and grabbing a glass from the cupboard you pour yourself some water and take a sip.

‘God, why is it so hard to keep it together…’ you think to yourself as you sigh, rubbing your hand over your face.

You hear (Y/N) talking to Bucky, so you refill the glass of water and head into the lounge to give the glass to (Y/N).

“Hey sleepy head, you’re up.” You say with a sweet smile.

“Yeah, that was a good nap.” (Y/N) says with a chuckle, as she gets up from the couch; grabbing her shoes and heads towards her bedroom door.

“I brought you some water, just in case you were thirsty.” You say with a shy smile.

“Oh thanks, Steve, just let me get changed into something more comfortable and I’ll have a sip.” (Y/N) says with a smile and walks into her bedroom, closing the door behind her.

Looking over at Bucky, you find him smiling at you; and you narrow your eye in suspicion.

“What are you up to jerk?” you ask with quirked eyebrows.

“Oh, nothing punk…” Bucky replies with a broader smile “I just asked (Y/N) if she wanted to watch a movie with us and she’s up for it.”

“Oh…” you say in surprised, not finding any better words to respond “So where are we watching movies?”

“(Y/N)’s happy to watch here, since it’s easier than moving between floors.” Bucky says, settling himself on the couch and turning on the television.

“I’ll go check for microwave popcorn and drinks.” You say with a smile, heading into the kitchen; Bucky seeming to want to follow this time.

“Let me help you out, Stevie.” Bucky says as he makes for the fridge, while you raid (Y/N)’s cupboards for microwave popcorn.

“Okay, we’re in business.” You and Bucky say at the same time, turning to face each other; both of you holding your respective items.

Both of you burst out laughing, Bucky places the cool drinks on the kitchen counter and you head over to the microwave to place the first pack in and put the timer on; while Bucky grabs a couple of bowls from the cupboard to put all the popcorn in, since movies equalled massive bowls of popcorn and cool drinks.

Once all the microwave popcorn was ready, you grab the bowls and Bucky the cool drinks, making your way into the lounge where (Y/N) had finished setting up the coffee table and side tables closer to the couch for easy access to food and drinks.

“So what are we watching tonight guys?” (Y/N) asks in amusement.

Bucky and you exchange looks and shrug.

“How about an oldie…” (Y/N) says while tapping her finger on her chin, thinking it over “I got it, how about Grease?”

You know you hadn’t seen it as yet, so you look over at Bucky who looks just as lost; both of you looking at (Y/N) and reply “Yeah, sure.”

The three of you get comfortable as the movie started while eating and drinking; though about two-thirds of the way through the movie the three of you fell asleep on the couch together.

~~~ BONUS SCENE ~~~

While Steve, Bucky and (Y/N) sleep in the comfort and warmth of one another, nobody hears Clint in the vents, even as he pops his head through the vent in the ceiling to check if everything was okay, and tells Nat over the phone that everything is fine.

But Nat wants proof, so Clint takes a couple of photos of the three sleeping beauty’s and sends them to Nat’s phone before making his way back through the ventilation system.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	71. Chapter 70

Reader’s POV

“What the hell do you think you’re doing here Strucker?” you growl as Cornel Strucker places his hand around your waist and takes your hand in his, and starts to twirl you around the dance floor.

“Is that any way to greet an old friend?” Strucker says with a sneer.

“Strucker, you’re lucky that I haven’t put a knife through your skull.” You say in an infuriated tone “Now what do you want.”

Strucker smiles at you as he continues to spin you around on the floor, much to your annoyance.

“I was hoping to see you and Logan here together, but it seems I missed the memo about you and Logan no longer being together.” Strucker states with a Cheshire cat smile.

“You stay away from Logan.” You snap at Strucker, which seems to make Strucker’s smile grow.

“Oh, have I hit a nerve?” Strucker says in a teasing tone “I saw you with Captain America and the Winter Soldier is that new or is it a passing phase?”

You clench your jaw, trying to keep calm ‘He’s just trying to get you to crack.’ You keep repeating in your mind.

“No answer for me Shadow?” Strucker continues with a smug look on his face “Well since I have you silent for once... Logan must feel so lonely without you; maybe I should pay him a visit; considering he is an old friend of mine...”

“If you go near Logan...” you start saying before you see a metal hand on Strucker’s shoulder.

“Sorry to interrupt.” Bucky says in a cool, low voice “I think it’s about time you left.”

Bucky moves to take your hand out of Strucker’s, turning you away from the man trying to make to the balcony.

“I’ll tell Logan you say hello.” Strucker pipes up with a chuckle.

What Strucker wasn’t expecting was for that comment to be the final straw for you.

You push yourself away from Bucky, you rush at Strucker with lightning speed and punch me in the face, your fist connects with such force that Strucker is knocked completely off his feet and lies limp on the floor, with blood coming out of his nose.

You feel a pair of arms around you, holding you secure; Bucky is in front of you trying to get you to keep eye contact with him, but all you can do is look at Strucker with such venom and hatred.

“(Y/N), you need to calm down.” Bucky says in a quiet whisper.

“Bucky, I’m going to take her outside; to let her get some fresh air.” Steve states in a firm voice, making you realise that Steve was the one holding you.

Meeting Bucky’s eyes you give a curt nod, and Bucky nods to Steve; both of them escort you out onto the balcony; as Sam, Clint and Tony attend to the scene.

Once you’re outside on the balcony, you shiver from the cold air; Steve gently releases you from his grip and you walk over to the railing looking out at the city lights.

You feel a jacket being placed on your shoulders, turning your head slightly you see Bucky has given you his jacket.

“Thanks Bucky...” you say in a serene tone.

Bucky gives you his brightest smile and keeps his hand on your shoulder.

“Are you okay (Y/N)?” Steve asks in a concerned voice, you slowly turn around and look at Steve.

“Yeah I’m okay...” you whisper, not knowing how to end the sentence, as you look down at the floor.

“Did he threaten you?” Bucky asks in restless tone.

“No Bucky, he didn’t... He didn’t threaten me... Not directly anyway...” you say with a solemn voice “But he’s going to go after Logan.”

“How do you know Strucker is going after Logan?” Steve asks in an interested tone.

“He basically implied that he would be paying Logan a visit since Logan and I are no longer together.” You say in a frustrated voice.

“Well I’m sure Logan wouldn’t go willingly with Strucker.” Steve says in a confident tone.

“Did Bucky go willingly with Hydra Steve?” you ask with sadness, causing Bucky to tense and Steve look like a kicked puppy.

“Strucker will always want Logan because Logan was the best weapon he ever got to experiment on...” you say in a knowing tone “All Strucker needs is an Adamantium made gun and bullet; and he’ll have Logan back doing his dirty work, with no memories.”

You’re so focused on your thoughts of Logan’s wellbeing that you don’t notice, Steve handing you something.  
Upon closer inspection, you notice Steve is handing you his phone; you hold the phone in your hands and look up at Steve.

“Call him.” Steve says in a timid voice.

You look at Steve and then to Bucky, who gives you a nod; which makes you smile.

“Thanks, guys.” You say with as much affection as you can muster at this moment “But Logan won’t take any of my calls, after what I did to him and Remy.”

“Well at least tell the Professor then.” Bucky chimes in with a smile.

“Okay...” you reply and quickly type in the Professor’s number, placing the phone next to your ear as you hear the phone ringing.

“Hello?” you hear the Professor state in a calm voice.

“Hi, um Professor.” You say a little hesitantly.

“(Y/N), how are you? Is everything okay?” the Professor asks in a curious tone.

“I’m okay Professor...” you say in a neutral voice.

“What is troubling you?” the Professor states in a knowing voice.

You sigh deeply before you speak “Professor is Logan still at the school?”

“Yes (Y/N) he is.” Professor Xavier says in calm voice.

“Please could you ensure that he stays with the Xmen...” you say in a sad voice “Strucker arrived at Tony’s function tonight and basically implied that he would be coming for Logan.”

“I’ll make sure that everyone is safe here (Y/N), you have my word.” Professor Xavier says in a kind but firm voice.

“Thank you, Professor.” You say in a sincere tone “and Professor, please don’t let him know that I told you this news.”

“I’ll be as discreet as possible (Y/N).” Professor Xavier states with a kind voice “Now, I believe you have a party to carry on enjoying.” The Professor states with a chuckle.

“I’ll try my best to enjoy the party Professor, good night.” You say with a smile on your face.

The Professor says goodbye and you end the call, handing the phone back to Steve.

“Thank you so much, Steve.” You say in a kind voice.

“Anytime (Y/N).” Steve says with a smile on his face.

“How about we steal some of Thor’s Asgardian liquor and maybe have a dance or two?” Bucky chimes in with a mischievous grin.

“Only you would want to steal Thor’s drink.” You say with a chuckle.

“Bucky we’re not going to steal Thor’s drink...” Steve states in a stern voice, giving Bucky the stink eye.

Bucky meets your eyes and gives you a pleading look, which has you smiling.

“Ah... But Steve, Bucky just wants to cheer me up...” you whisper in a dejected tone, lowering your head and looking at the floor.

You hear a deep sigh, and look up at Steve hopefully having gotten him to agree with the plan.

“Lord, you are just as bad as Bucky...” Steve states in an exasperated voice.

“Thank you, Steve.” You say with a smile, as you pull Steve into a tight hug.

You feel Steve’s arms wrap around your waist gently, sending shivers up your spine; as he nestles his face into the side of your neck.

“So shall we get this plan underway?” Bucky states with a chuckle, rubbing his hands together.

“Yes, you overly eager mischievous man.” You say looking at Bucky, with an amused look.

Steve lets go of you, with a laugh “So who’s distracting and who’s stealing?”

“Well what kind of a distraction are we going for?” Bucky asks in a curious tone.

You think it over for a moment before a wide sinister smirk crosses your face.

“Why do I feel a little scared right now...” Steve states in an uncomfortable voice.

“I’ll make it fun then.” You say with a grin.

\-------------

Thor’s POV

You look over at the balcony keeping an eye on (Y/N), after the fiasco of (Y/N) knocking out a guest.

“I hope (Y/N) is alright.” You say in a concerned voice.

“You’re such an oaf...” Loki grumbles “Can’t you see that (Y/N) is smiling with the two super soldiers.”

“There was no need for name calling brother.” You state in a saddened tone.

“Why don’t you speak to her about it, because she is coming this way?” Loki says in a nonchalant voice, taking the last swig from his glass; placing the glass on the coffee table and making his way over to the bar.

You watch as (Y/N) walks back inside from the balcony, Bucky and Steve in tow.

(Y/N) takes a seat next to you and sighs; her eyelids close while she rubs her temples with her fingers.

“Are you alright (Y/N)?” you say in a worried voice.

Slowly (Y/N) opens her eyes and looks over at you.

“Thor would you mind taking me for a spin on the dance floor?” (Y/N) asks in an innocently sweet voice.

“Of course (Y/N), I’d be more than happy to dance with you again.” you say in an over-enthusiastic tone.

As quick as a cobra strike, you place your bottle of Asgardian liquor on the table without a second thought and get up from the couch; taking (Y/N)’s hand in yours, as you lead her to the dance floor.

“I’m a little surprised that you wish to be away from Bucky and Steve, after the fun you three have been having as of late?” you ask in a curious tone.

“Well sometimes, I need a little space and you are a very good dancer Thor.” (Y/N) says with a wide smirk on her face.

‘Why do I feel like (Y/N) is up to something?’ you ponder to yourself.

The band strikes up a perfectly paced tempo, as you lead (Y/N) around the dance floor; much to the enjoyment and laughter of (Y/N).

It’s good to see (Y/N) having fun at one of Tony’s parties; usually it was a quick appearance and then a disappearing act, leaving the team to wonder where (Y/N) was.

“So are you enjoying your party?” you ask with a broad smile.

“Well I haven’t had a party in my honour before.” (Y/N) states with a laugh “Actually that’s a lie... Though, at least the team knows now, so it’s not me and Tony eyeing each other with a knowing smile.”

“You raced superbly (Y/N), I wonder how you would fair on horseback; I’m sure we could use a warrior like you on Asgard.” You say with a charming smile.

“Do you really think that Asgard would want the daughter of Death on their planet?” (Y/N) asks with a quirked eyebrow.

“Well we could always leave out that part...” you say with a shrug and chuckle, when (Y/N) shakes her head.

“So I hear you’re going back to Asgard with Loki in the next few days, something wrong at home?” (Y/N) asks with a gentle smile.

“It’s nothing to worry about, simply a meeting with representatives from the nine realms. We’re all concerned about the surfacing of the infinity stones in such a short amount of time.” You say with a deep sigh, this matter had become more urgent with each stone appearing in quick succession to the previous one.

“Ah, that could pose a serious problem for every realm.” (Y/N) states in a thoughtful tone.

“Let us enjoy this dance, instead of pondering on matters that cannot be solved tonight.” You say with a broad smile.

(Y/N) returns your smile with one of her own, as she snakes her hand from your shoulder up to your neck; making you shiver at the contact.

“(Y/N), what are you up to?” you ask in a confused voice.

“Just having a little fun with Bucky and Steve.” (Y/N) says with a smirk on her face “Let’s spice up this dance a little.”

“Alright, why not.” You say with a charming smile.

You give (Y/N) your complete attention as both of you move more intimately across the dance floor, swaying and slightly grinding your bodies against each other.

As the song ends you slowly dip (Y/N) back, keeping eye contact with her as she chuckles at you.

“Something funny (Y/N).” You ask in an amused tone.

“Well I think you might have annoyed Bucky.” (Y/N) states with a laugh.

“Why would you say that?” you ask in a curious tone.

“Um... Have you seen how close your face is to my chest?” (Y/N) says with a chuckle, her hand still tight on your neck.

You look lower and realise that her perfect looking breasts were mere inches away from your face, a look of shock must spread across your face; because suddenly (Y/N) seems to laugh uncontrollably as you quickly bring her back up to stand on her own two feet.

“I’m sorry (Y/N).” You say in a somewhat embarrassed voice, even though your smile doesn’t faultier.

“It’s okay Thor; I know you didn’t mean anything by it.” (Y/N) says with a smile “Please excuse me, I need to visit the ladies room really quickly.”

“It was lovely dancing with you (Y/N).” You say in a charming voice, as (Y/N) walks off the dance floor.

You make your way back to where you had left your liquor, only to find that the bottle is nowhere in sight.

Scanning the room to see who might have taken it, doesn’t result in any useful culprits; though what does catch your eye is that Tony is definitely more inebriated then he was before you started dancing with (Y/N).

“Stark...” you grumble as you made your way over to the billionaire.

\---------

Steve’s POV

You and Bucky watch as Thor leads (Y/N) to the dance floor “Buck, I don’t think this plan is going to work...” you say in a nervous voice.

“Come on Stevie; give (Y/N) a little credit here.” Bucky says with a wicked smile on his face.

“If we get caught, this could end badly.” You say with a sigh.

“The only bad that could happen, is that Thor sees us and chases both of us down.” Bucky says with a laugh and turns his attention back to the dance floor to watch (Y/N) and Thor dancing.

Both of you watch for (Y/N)’s signal, as soon as her hand moves up to Thor’s neck; you spring into action.

Quickly getting up from the couch and tripping over your own feet over the coffee table, just as Bucky catches you before you hurt yourself.

Your hand is firmly around the bottle of Asgardian liquor, which you quickly sneak into the inner pocket of Bucky’s jacket.

As the two of you straighten up, Bucky pats you on the back and makes his way over to the elevator; swiftly slipping in while no one is watching, while you make your way over to the toilets.

Watching in, you quickly open the tap and splash a little water on your face; before closing the tap and getting a paper towel to wipe the droplets of water off your face.

You make your way out of the men’s room, to find (Y/N) walking up to you with an evil smile.

“So did you guys get it?” (Y/N) asks with a chuckle.

“Yeah, we got it.” You say with a sigh ‘God Bucky and (Y/N) are going to be the end of me’ you ponder to yourself.

“So you ready to go?” (Y/N) asks with a smile.

“Yeah, I think after that little mission, I could use a break.” You say with a smile.

Both of you make your way to the elevator and get on, pressing the button for the lobby; as the elevator makes its descent to the lobby, you look over at (Y/N).

“Steve, could I lean against you?” (Y/N) asks with a smile.

“Um... Yeah... Sure (Y/N)” you say in a shy tone.

(Y/N) promptly places her hand on your bicep and leans on you.

You feel your cheeks heat up a little, as you watch (Y/N).

“What are you doing (Y/N)?” you ask in a surprised tone, watching (Y/N) lifting her dress with her free hand and lifting one foot.

“I need to get these shoes off, they’re killing me...” (Y/N) says in an exasperated voice.

“Would it be easier if I carried you?” you ask in a timid tone.

(Y/N) stops what she’s doing and looks up at you, and you feel your throat tighten a little.

“If... If you want to of course...” you quickly add in.

(Y/N) gives you a smile and simply nods.

As the elevator dings and the doors open, you find yourself moving in front of (Y/N) and gently lifting her up into your arms, bridal style.

You smile at (Y/N) and hold her close to your chest and make your way out of the lobby and over to the limo that is waiting for them.

“While finally you two...” Bucky pipes up from the car and opens the door for both of you to get in.

You let (Y/N) slide into the back of the limo first and then you follow suit, closing the door behind you.

“Sorry, I was having some fun with Thor.” (Y/N) states with a laugh.

“I’m sure you did (Y/N).” Bucky says with a chuckle “And here’s your prize.” He says handing over the bottle of liquor to (Y/N).

“Driver, please take us back to the compound.” You tell the driver and close the partition, for the three of you to have some privacy.

(Y/N) takes a swig from the bottle before handing it to you, which you take hesitantly.

“Come on Steve, you earned it.” (Y/N) says with a smile “I watched how you pretended to trip, just so you could get the bottle.”

You feel your skin warm up a little, and you take a swig and hand the bottle over to Bucky; who takes a longer swig than you and (Y/N).

“This is some good stuff.” Bucky says with a smirk, handing the bottle back to (Y/N).

“I know right, I think we should plan a big heist of Thor’s liquor.” (Y/N) states with a laugh, placing the bottle between her and you.

You and Bucky watch as (Y/N) leans forward and unbuckles her shoes and slips them off for feet.

“God finally my feet can be free again.” (Y/N) states in a relieved tone.

“I can only imagine what you ladies go through to get ready for Tony’s parties.” Bucky says with a wicked smile.

(Y/N) looks over at Bucky and laughs “Well, that’s the standard that the male population set for their view of the perfect women.”

“Well most men are idiots anyway.” Bucky says with a shrug and lays his head against the back of the seat.

“I think I’m going to get a little shut-eye before we get back to the compound.” (Y/N) says with a yawn.

“That’s alright; I’ll wake you when we get back to the compound.” You state with a sweet smile.

(Y/N) closes her eyes and lays her head on the back of the seat, her body going somewhat limp; as sleep overtook her.

You take the bottle out from between the two of you and take a swig before you hand it over to Bucky to have a sip.

After a few minutes of passing the bottle between the two of you, the liquor is finished and you feel a little light headed.

“Hey Steve.” Bucky says in a quiet tone.

“Yeah Buck.” You reply with a smile.

“I’d really like to watch a movie when we get back to the compound, you in?” Bucky asks with a smile.

“Yeah, sure we can.” You say with a broad smile, looking over at (Y/N) who is fast asleep now.

Finally when the car rolls up to the entrance of the Avengers compound, you and Bucky just don’t have the heart to wake (Y/N) up; so Bucky elects to carry (Y/N) in while you take her shoes and the empty bottle that held Thor’s liquor.

You and Bucky make your way to (Y/N)’s apartment, notifying FRIDAY to open (Y/N)’s apartment door.

Bucky gently places (Y/N) on the couch in her lounge; kneeling down next to her and gently nudges her arm.

“(Y/N)... Come on (Y/N)… We’re home.” Bucky says in a tender voice, which makes you smile at the scene in front of you.

Bucky and you watch as (Y/N) slowly opens her eyes and stretches across the couch; what a sight (Y/N) is to behold as she stretches, her dress dipping a little lower on her chest accentuating her gorgeous chest.

You swallow the knot forming in your throat and cough to clear your throat when swallowing doesn’t help.

Bucky looks at you and starts laughing “Stevie, are you seriously blushing like a Catholic school girl?”

“Shut up jerk.” You pipe up, grabbing Thor’s empty bottle and walk into (Y/N)’s kitchen, throwing the bottle in the bin and grabbing a glass from the cupboard you pour yourself some water and take a sip.

‘God, why is it so hard to keep it together…’ you think to yourself as you sigh, rubbing your hand over your face.

You hear (Y/N) talking to Bucky, so you refill the glass of water and head into the lounge to give the glass to (Y/N).

“Hey sleepy head, you’re up.” You say with a sweet smile.

“Yeah, that was a good nap.” (Y/N) says with a chuckle, as she gets up from the couch; grabbing her shoes and heads towards her bedroom door.

“I brought you some water, just in case you were thirsty.” You say with a shy smile.

“Oh thanks Steve, just let me get changed into something more comfortable and I’ll have a sip.” (Y/N) says with a smile and walks into her bedroom, closing the door behind her.

Looking over at Bucky, you find him smiling at you; and you narrow your eye in suspicion.

“What are you up to jerk?” you ask with quirked eyebrows.

“Oh nothing punk…” Bucky replies with a broader smile “I just asked (Y/N) if she wanted to watch a movie with us and she’s up for it.”

“Oh…” you say in surprised, not finding any better words to respond “So where are we watching movies?”

“(Y/N)’s happy to watch here, since it’s easier than moving between floors.” Bucky says, settling himself on the couch and turning on the television.

“I’ll go check for microwave popcorn, and drinks.” You say with a smile, heading into the kitchen; Bucky seeming to want to follow this time.

“Let me help you out, Stevie.” Bucky says as he makes for the fridge, while you raid (Y/N)’s cupboards for microwave popcorn.

“Okay we’re in business.” You and Bucky say at the same time, turning to face each other; both of you holding your respective items.

Both of you burst out laughing, Bucky places the cool drinks on the kitchen counter and you head over to the microwave to place the first pack in and put the timer on; while Bucky grabs a couple of bowls from the cupboard to put all the popcorn in, since movies equalled massive bowls of popcorn and cool drinks.

Once all the microwave popcorn was ready, you grab the bowls and Bucky the cool drinks, making your way into the lounge where (Y/N) had finished setting up the coffee table and side tables closer to the couch for easy access to food and drinks.

“So what are we watching tonight guys?” (Y/N) asks in amusement.

Bucky and you exchange looks and shrug.

“How about an oldie…” (Y/N) says while tapping her finger on her chin, thinking it over “I got it, how about Grease?”

You know you hadn’t seen it as yet, so you look over at Bucky who looks just as lost; both of you looking at (Y/N) and reply “Yeah, sure.”

The three of you get comfortable as the movie started while eating and drinking; though about two-thirds of the way through the movie the three of you fell asleep on the couch together.

~~~BONUS~~~

While Steve, Bucky and (Y/N) sleep in the comfort and warmth of one another, nobody hears Clint in the vents, even as he pops his head through the vent in the ceiling to check if everything was okay, and tells Nat over the phone that everything is fine.

But Nat wants proof, so Clint takes a couple of photos of the three sleeping beauty’s and sends them to Nat’s phone before making his way back through the ventilation system.

~~~~~~~~~~~~


	72. Chapter 71

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys for the long wait :(
> 
> Unfortunately, work is stressful at the moment, but I'm also addicted to reading fan fiction; which causes a problem for when I need to write my chapters :)

Two months later

Reader’s POV

You feel the sweat running down your body, as you run through your individual training routine for the hundredth time; your muscles really craved a break, but you push yourself more with every passing second.

Running through the obstacle course, you hear someone call out your name, but you drown their voice out and finish the course and almost collapse on the mat from exhaustion.

A set of hands catches you, as you stumble towards your towel and water bottle.

“Easy there (Y/N).” Steve says in a concerned tone.

You look up at Steve and see the frown lines on his forehead, his facial expression somewhat harsh in the dim light of the training room.

“I’m fine Steve.” You say trying to pry yourself loose from his grip.

Steve reluctantly lets go of you but shadows you until you sit down on the bench and grab the water bottle taking large gulps from the bottle.

“(Y/N) you need to stop this.” Steve says in a stern voice.

“Stop what Steve, training so I don’t fuck up again?” you say in a sarcastic tone.

The mission the whole team had gone on earlier in the week, had been a difficult one; mainly human trafficking ring; but what you didn’t expect was the have misjudged a situation that cost a young girl her life.

You hadn’t slept in four days and you knew your body was starting to shut down; from you not eating or sleeping, but every time you close your eyes you saw that young girl’s eyes looking at you and your guilt got worse.

So, you pushed yourself to make sure your skills and reflex time got quicker; hoping that another child didn’t have to be killed because of your mistake.

“(Y/N) it wasn’t your fault, you did the best you could under such heavy gunfire.” Steve says in a strained voice.

This conversation had happened multiple times every day since it happened, but it never made you feel any better.

“I could have been quicker than I was Steve, that girl is dead because I was too slow.” You state with enough self-loathing that even Steve cringes.

You look down at your feet and release a deep and long breath, to try and calm your nerves; your body throbbing in pain from the repetitive cycles on the obstacle course.

“(Y/N) sometimes you can’t save everyone, but as long as you know you did the best you could; that’s what matters.” Steve states in a sincere tone, placing his hand on your shoulder.

You can feel your walls beginning to crumble, the team was worried, because you completely shut down emotionally after the mission; but after a couple of days with no sleep and no food, your body and mind were not co-operating with you anymore.

Looking up at Steve, you could feel yourself falling apart inside; your eyes beginning to water, and you quickly place your hands over your eyes so Steve won’t see you fall apart.

Steve gently pulls you into a hug and rocks you back and forth, as you sob uncontrollably in his arms.

“It’s okay (Y/N), it’s okay...” Steve softly whispers, holding you tighter to him.

“H-How could I- I let t-this happen...” you stammer, as more tears roll down your cheeks.

“You didn’t let anything happen; there was nothing you could do.” Steve says in a calm voice, gently rubbing your back as your hands gripped onto his shirt tightly, your tears soaking his shirt as you cry.

“But I should have done something to save her life...” you say between a hiccup.

“How many times have you gone over your part in the mission?” Steve asks in a timid voice.

“More times than I can count...” you say in a dejected tone.

“And how many times did you find a solution that was satisfactory?” Steve pressed in a soft tone.

Your breath hitches loudly and you cling tighter onto Steve “Never...” you reply in a defeated voice.

“Then you know you did everything in your power to save that girl and that’s what counts.” Steve says in a sincere tone, squeezing you tighter into his chest.

You simply nod your head against Steve’s chest try to calm yourself down; Steve never asks you anything else after that and lets you go through all the emotions you feel.

After some time has passed, and your breathing has evened out; you slowly pull away to look at Steve, who meets your eyes with a solemn look and a small smile on his face.

“Now there’s the face I’ve been looking for.” Steve says as his smile slowly spreads across his face.

“What... You mean to tell me you were waiting to see my face all red and blotchy, with snot and tears?” you ask with a smirk.

“No, I’ve been waiting for you to come back out of that place you went to, straight after the mission.” Steve states with a soft chuckle, as he runs his hand through your hair.

The action seems to calm you down even more and you smile at Steve.

“Thank you, Steve.” You say in a somewhat embarrassed voice.

“Anytime (Y/N)... How about some breakfast, at the diner?” Steve says with a smile.

Before you can answer Steve, Bucky comes running into the training room with your phone in his hand.

“(Y/N) you need to take this call.” Bucky says a little terrified and shocked his eyes wide as he hands you the phone.

“Why who is it?” you say in an alarmed tone.

“Some lady called Marge kept calling your phone for the past four days, so I decided to answer the call since you wouldn’t leave the training room and she practically yelled at me to put you on the line and wouldn’t take no for an answer.” Bucky states in a wound up voice.

You can’t help but laugh while motioning with your hand for Bucky to come sit down beside you as you take the phone from him.

“Hey, Marge.” You say with a neutral tone.

“(Y/N)! What the hell is going on?” Marge yells over the phone.

For all the years you had known Marge and her family, you had somewhat adopted them as your surrogate family, but you're brought out of your thoughts when Marge starts yelling again.

“Why haven’t you been answering my calls? I have been worried sick since I saw the footage online from your last mission.” Marge states in a stern voice.

“Yeah... I’m sorry about that Marge... I’ve just been having a rough time is all.” You say in a timid voice; Marge always had a way of making you feel like a child being scolded.

“I think you need to visit me, darling. I can sense your aura is still somewhat distressed, but not as much as when I was shouting at that young man.” Marge says in a curious tone.

You blush a little realising what Marge was implying and you had been wondering the same thing; ever since you had chosen to spend time with Steve and Bucky without the use of your binding rings, there was something inside that seemed to be calming and relaxing about hanging out with Steve and Bucky.

“You trying to rope me in to help you?” you ask with a chuckle, watching Bucky and Steve exchanging looks with one another.

“Well it has been a year since you last visited, and well the planetary alignments are perfect for starting the harvest in three days time for the whole month.” Marge states in an excited tone.

“You’re a menace sometimes, you know that Marge?” you say with a chuckle.

“Oh I know sweetheart, now come visit and bring those two young men with you. I won’t take no for an answer.” Marge says in a stern and motherly voice.

“I’ll see you in a few days Marge; try not to kill yourself before then.” You say in a joking tone.

“Can’t make any promises, but I’ll try. Bye, my darling.” Marge says in a sweet voice, before cutting the call.

You take a deep breath and put your phone on your lap.

“I’m assuming you ensured that I won’t be killed by the lady on the phone?” Bucky says with a smirk.

“Marge is very persuasive when she needs to be.” You say with a smile “So it seems I’m taking a trip.”

“You’re taking a trip? Where are you going?” Steve asks in a concerned tone, his eyebrows furrowed in worry.

“Marge is an old friend, the same friend that made my biding rings and placed the spell on me.” You say in a matter of fact tone, both Bucky and Steve give you an unreadable look.

“Every year I help her harvest the herbs and plants she needs for her remedies and medicines.” You say with a smile “It’s a month and a half of quiet, peace and fresh air; well besides the labour of the harvest.” You say with a chuckle.

“Well, why don’t we grab a eat at Sally’s diner and you can tell us more about Marge?” Steve asks in an innocent voice.

“That sounds amazing, though I really don’t want to go have a shower right now…” you mumble to yourself.

“Well, I’m sure Sally won’t mind if you smell like a hobo.” Bucky states with a chuckle, jumping out of the way as you try to slap him on the shoulder.

“Very funny Barnes.” You grumble in irritation.

“How about this, I’ll give you a piggyback ride up to your apartment and Bucky and I will go get ready.” Steve says in a cheerful voice.

“Is Captain Rogers trying to bribe me?” you ask in mock surprise.

“That was more like Steve Rogers being a same punk from the 1940’s.” Bucky says with a laugh moves further away, as Steve tries to grab him.

“Damn jerk.” Steve mutters and shakes his head.

“Alright then, so I get a piggyback ride to my apartment; and then we ride to Sally’s to eat?” you ask as if your thinking about the offer.

When Steve just looks at you, waiting patiently for your answer; you smile and nod “Okay, carry me onward noble steed.” You state with a chuckle.

Steve gets up and turns for you to jump onto his back, after a failed first attempt since your muscles were exhausted; Bucky helps you onto Steve’s back.

As both men walk you back to your apartment, you manage a short nap pressed against Steve’s back; waking up when Bucky gives you a gentle nudge.

“You sure you’re up for going out to eat?” Bucky asks with concern.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” You say with a smile and head inside your apartment to get ready.

Half an hour later, you finally emerge from your apartment and find both Steve and Bucky leaning against the wall, waiting for you.

“You know you guys could have knocked, right?” you ask in curiosity.

“It’s okay, we just arrived.” Bucky says with a smile.

“So you ready to go?” Steve asks with a broad smile.

“Yeah, I am; my stomach’s already started grumbling.” You say with a laugh as if on cue your stomach starts making sounds.

“Well, in that case, we better hurry, because that sounds serious.” Bucky says with a charming smile.

“Let’s head down to the garage and head out.” Steve stifles a chuckle, as your stomach makes a noise again.

“Alright you two, let’s go then.” You say with a smile.

Once you get down to the garage, it becomes apparent that both men won’t let you drive since you’ve had no sleep and food in the last couple of days; so after much debate, everyone agrees to take one of Tony’s cars instead of riding on motorcycles.

You let Bucky take shotgun on the front seat and climb into the back seat, with Steve driving the car; as you three talk animatedly about some movies that Tony is trying to get Bucky and Steve to watch, but somewhere in the midst of that conversation your eyes droop closed and you fall asleep.

\---------------

Steve’s POV

As you’re driving the car, you look in the rear-view mirror when (Y/N) doesn’t respond to Bucky’s query, only to find her fast asleep in the back seat.

Bucky turns in his seat and shrugs his jacket off and places on (Y/N)’s shoulders, you watch as she seems to snuggle into the jacket a bit and carries on sleeping.

You sigh and think over the conversation you managed to overhear (Y/N) having with Marge, your mind working through the information you gathered.

“So I’m guessing you’re thinking about what that lady, Marge said to (Y/N)?” Bucky says with a smile.

“Am I that easy to read?” you say in a defeated tone.

“Not to everyone, but to me; yeah you are.” Bucky chuckles and pats you on the shoulder.

“I mean don’t you find it strange, how can (Y/N) be friends with someone who puts spells on people?” you ask in a serious tone.

“Stevie, I know it’s hard to understand; but I don’t think (Y/N) would be friends with someone who’s evil.” Bucky says in a confident voice.

“But just seems strange that (Y/N) would willingly be friends with someone who can affect your emotions with spells and binding rings.” You say in a persistent voice.

“Well, maybe we should talk about it with (Y/N) while we’re at the diner?” Bucky says in a relaxed tone.

“Are you planning on going with (Y/N)?” you say in an interested tone.

“If (Y/N) offers me the chance to go with her, I’ll go with her. No question about it, what about you, pal?” Bucky says in a confident voice, giving you a smile as he looked at you.

“I would go, but it would be to protect (Y/N); this lady just seems suspicious to me.” You state in your Captain America voice.

“Stevie we both know (Y/N) can handle herself; I’m sure it more than just some lady putting spells on her.” Bucky says in a convincing tone.

You look over at Bucky, while waiting for the red robot to turn green and smile.

“What’s got you smiling like a mischievous pup, Rogers?” Bucky says with a laugh.

“Do you really think (Y/N) will ask us to go with her?” you ask in a soft voice, a sheepish look on your face.

“Well if the past three months are anything to go by, I think we had a better chance of being asked then the rest of the team.” Bucky states with a broad grin on his face.

You can’t help but laugh at Bucky’s comment, it is true that over the past three months that the three of you had spent time together; every day there was a trip to either have breakfast, lunch or dinner at Sally’s, it was like a ritual.

Sally has already said that they had their own booth, so they wouldn’t be disturbed; which was great when you had two super soldiers and an immortal eating after a hectic training session.

“You think Sally will twist her hubbies arm to make us those amazing hash browns?” Bucky asks in an excited voice.

You look at him before looking back at the road and chuckle “Yeah I’m pretty sure she’ll do that for you, Buck.”

“Not for me punk, for (Y/N) she absolutely loves those hash browns.” Bucky says with a laugh.

“Well we know that Sally and her whole family are utterly crazy about (Y/N), so I’m sure she’ll get anything she wants.” You say with a smile.

As you pull into the parking lot outside the diner, Bucky shifts in his seat and gentle nudges (Y/N)’s arm.

“Hey, sleeping beauty...” Bucky whispers with a smile, as you watch from the rear-view mirror with a smile.

“Come on (Y/N), you got to work with me here.” Bucky persists with a chuckle.

You softly laugh to yourself as (Y/N) groans and mumbles to herself, you watch as she slowly shifts in the back seat.

You look at Bucky who looks like he doesn’t know what else to do, to get (Y/N) to walk into the diner quickly enough.

An idea crosses your mind and you look at Bucky with a smile “Hey (Y/N), Sally has those awesome hash browns waiting for you.”

Both of you watch in amusement, as (Y/N)’s eyes shoot open and she sits up straight like she’s about ready to bolt out of the car.

“Well, that definitely got your attention (Y/N).” Bucky says with a laugh, as he turns in his seat and takes off his seatbelt, and getting out of the car.

(Y/N) give you a death glare in the rear-view mirror and you quickly stop laughing.

“(Y/N) I’m sorry that I used the hash browns to get you up, but you need to eat.” You say in a serious tone, as you turn in your seat and meet (Y/N) eyes.

Bucky opens the back door on the passenger’s side and offers (Y/N) his hand, as (Y/N) gives you one last look and smiles at you.

You turn to hide the slight blushing working on your cheeks, opening your door and climbing out of the car; looking over at (Y/N) and Bucky before you lock the car.

As the three of you make your way inside the diner, Sally comes over and pulls (Y/N) into a tight hug.

“I’m so happy to see you (Y/N).” Sally whispers into (Y/N)’s ear.

“Thanks, Sal, I’m sorry I’ve been missing the past couple of days.” (Y/N) says in a sombre tone.

You watch closely as Sally holds (Y/N) at arm’s length and says “Oh sweetheart, you really need to eat something; you look exhausted.”

(Y/N) simply gives a nod and tries to avoid Sally’s eyes, as Sally embraces her again and leads the three of you over to your regular booth.

Once the three of you are seated, Sally looks at (Y/N) and says “now no arguments from you, young lady. A full breakfast is what you’re getting and you’ll eat all of it.”

You and Bucky snigger a little at Sally’s loving and motherly nature, watching (Y/N) blush a little and reply “Yes ma’am.”

“Oh, these boys are rubbing off on you.” Sally says with a smile “And you boys are having your usual, yes?”

Bucky looks at you before both of you nod and say “Yes ma’am.”

Sally laughs and walks towards the kitchen to place the order for the three of you, not long after Nick arrives with their drinks, which makes you smile since Sally made (Y/N) a large cup of hot chocolate with whipped cream and chocolate flakes on top.

“Thank you, Nick.” (Y/n) says with a wide smile on her face.

“Thanks, buddy.” You say with a smile, pulling your drink closer.

“Oh Nicky, you’re such a sweetheart.” Bucky joking says, with a mischievous grin.

You look at Nick, he has a deep blush working its way up his neck and over his cheeks.

“Nick run while you can.” (Y/N) says in a sympathetic voice.

Bucky is just about to say something when (Y/N) catches your eye and looks at Bucky’s drink ‘Oh’ you think ‘Right, one distraction coming right up.’ You think to yourself.

Quick as lightning you stick your finger into Bucky’s drink and lick your finger clean “Hmmm that is so good. Thanks, Buck.”

Bucky stops in his tracks and turns his gaze to you and frowns, as he reaches across the table towards your drink.

“Hey, Bucky?” (Y/N) asks in a sweet voice.

Bucky quickly turns to look at (Y/N) while you take a large sip of your drink before Bucky gets any ideas.

“Yeah (Y/N)?” Bucky asks with a smile.

“Would you mind if I tasted some of your drink?” (Y/N) asks with an innocent smile.

Bucky gives (Y/N) a dopey look as his smile grows even bigger.

“Yeah... Yeah, sure you can.” Bucky replies with all his charm.

You watch silently as Bucky swiftly hands (Y/N) his glass, watching as (Y/N) places her lips on the straw and sucks up the Oreo and mint milkshake from the glass.

(Y/N) closes her eyes and hums in appreciation before she slowly moves her lips away from the straw and licks her lips; looking up at Bucky and says “Hmmm... Thank you Bucky, it was sooo good.”

You stifle a snort and laugh, which makes you land up with some of your milkshake goes up your nose and down your chin.

Looking at Bucky, you can see his eyes widen a bit; the grey-blue colour of his eyes dilating with the scene in front him.

“You okay Bucky?” (Y/N) asks in curiosity.

Bucky just keeps looking but says nothing, so of course, as his best friend, you decide to take matters into your own hands and quickly kick Bucky in the shins to get his attention.

“Ouch...” Bucky whispers and glares at you.

You nudge your head towards (Y/N), which seems to make Bucky refocus his attention.

“Sorry (Y/N), I didn’t hear what you said.” Bucky mumbles in a somewhat embarrassed tone.

(Y/N) seems to take a little pity on him and says “Thanks for letting me taste your milkshake.”

Bucky’s eyes widen as he replies “Oh... Um... Sure no problem.”

“Do either of you want to try some of my hot chocolate?” (Y/N) asks with a smile.

“You know that Sally would slap us upside the head if we had some of your hot chocolate.” You say with a chuckle.

Last time Sally had made a special drink or dish for (Y/N), and you and Bucky had tried to taste it; Sally had practically smacked their hands with a spoon as punishment for ‘Trying to steal, what wasn’t theirs to have.’ as Sally put it.

“For the safety of my knuckles, I’ll pass.” You say with a laugh, which makes (Y/N) burst out laughing.

“I think I’ll try...” Bucky starts to say, but his sentence dies on his lips as Sally makes her way over to the table with Nick “Oh never mind, the food’s here.”

“Here ya go kids.” Sally says with a broad smile, placing (Y/N)’s plates on the table.

Nick and another temp waiter bring the rest of the food as Sally rushes off to the kitchen again.

As the three of you are about to dig in, Sally appears with a plate of perfectly fresh and hot hash browns “These darling, are for you.”

(Y/N) looks up at Sally and gives her a big smile “Thanks so much Sal.”

Sally gives (Y/N) a quick hug and rushes to greet customers that have walked into the diner.

The three of you dig in, both you and Bucky watch (Y/N) to make sure she’s eating enough; not out of fear of Sally skinning you both alive, it was most of a worry that (Y/N) wouldn’t allow herself to eat and enjoy the food because of her guilt.

But the meal passes in comfortable silence, with the three of you passing each other glances and smiles while you eat the amazing spread that is landed on the table.

After everyone is happy and full, Sally comes over and smiles; when she looks at (Y/N)’s plate, which is perfectly empty not even a crumb left on the plate.

“Thank you so much, Sal.” (Y/N) says with a broad and happy smile.

“This was amazing as always Sally, thank you so much.” You say with a smile, quickly stacking the plates neatly for Nick and another waiter to take to the kitchen.

“Sally, you really know the way to a guy’s heart.” Bucky jokingly states.

“Well, how’d you think I got my husband to marry me?” Sally says with a laugh.

As (Y/N) pulls out money from her jean pocket, you immediately jump in with Bucky about her not paying; which turns into a debate about paying for the food.

Eventually, Sally quietens the three of you down and says “No need to worry, Mr Stark called and said the bill was sorted.”

The three of you exchange looks and shake your heads.

“Well, that solves the problem.” (Y/N) says with a laugh “And thank you, Sally.”

“My pleasure sweetie, now don’t be a stranger.” Sally replies, giving (Y/N) a hug.

Sally looks at you and Bucky and chimes in “And you two boys, better look after her.”

Both you and Bucky blush slightly and respond “Yes ma’am.”

Sally gives the three of you a bright smile and walks over to check on other customers.

(Y/N) looks at the two of you and smiles “So where to next boys?”

“I think I have a place for you to just relax and enjoy the view.” You say with a broad smile, getting up from your seat and offering your hand for (Y/N) to take.

“Alright let’s go.” (Y/N) says with a chuckle and follows you out of the diner with Bucky bringing up the rear.

The car ride is quiet and you know that (Y/N) is especially curious about where you’re taking the three of you.

Once you park in an empty lot near the beach, (Y/N)’s eye go wide.

“I thought you could use a day of peace and quiet, just the ocean and gentle breeze around.” You say with a smile.

Though you realise that maybe you had spoken to Bucky about giving (Y/N) some space and leaving her to her own devices.

“Oh if you want, Bucky and I could go for a walk near the shops to give you space… If you want.” You say in a shy tone.

“I think I’d like you both to come for a walk with me on the beach unless you want to go shopping?” (Y/N) states in a withdrawn voice.

“I’d love to go for a walk with you (Y/N).” Bucky pipes up with a sweet smile “And I’m sure Stevie would like that too.”

“Thanks, guys, I just don’t think I want to be alone at the moment.” (Y/N) says with a reserved smile on her face.

(Y/N) moves to get out of the car, so do you and Bucky. Once the car is closed the three of you make your way down to the beach and take off your shoes and take a slow stroll down the beach.

Thank goodness you found this quiet and beautiful spot to share with two of the most important people to you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think
> 
> Or just leave some love <3


	73. Chapter 72

Reader’s POV

 

After a leisurely walk on the beach with Bucky and Steve, talking about random things that got your attention; the three of you sit down on the sand and relax for a while watching the waves crash on the shore, enjoying the breeze blowing in the late afternoon.

Your eyes are closed as you let the breeze blow against your face, smiling at the feel of setting sun’s rays of light and the smell of the ocean; you finally open your eyes and look between Bucky and Steve.

“So, I wanted to talk to you both about something.” You say in a soft voice.

“Okay.” Bucky and Steve say in unison, with smiles on their faces.

“I know you both hear the conversation I had with Marge on the phone when Bucky handed me my phone in the gym.” You state in a neutral tone, Bucky and Steve look guilty and blush a little at your statement.

“Well, I have never seen a reason to doubt Marge’s requests for as long as I’ve known her and I’ve known her since she was born.” You say with a laugh, as you look over at the ocean waves before you continue to speak.

“So I would like to invite you both to come with me to meet Marge if you’re interested.” You say with a sweet smile.

Bucky immediately pipes up “Yeah, of course, I’ll go with you to visit Marge.”

You turn to look at Steve, he looks a little apprehensive; so you wait patiently for his response.

After a few minutes, you clear your throat and say “Steve, you don’t have to give me a decision right now. I’m leaving in three days, so take some time think about it.”

Steve looks at you sheepishly and blushes slightly as he looks down at the sand.

“I think the main concern for this punk over here (Y/N), is that he thinks that Marge has been putting voodoo spells on you.” Bucky states with a smirk on his face, shifting his eyes from your face to look at Steve.

You look in shock at Bucky and turn to look at Steve, to see if Bucky was telling the truth. Steve meets Bucky’s eyes with a glare “Damn jerk.”

Steve meets your gaze as his facial features soften “I’m sorry (Y/N).”

You smile at Steve before you answer him.

“Steve, you think she did voodoo magic on me?” you say, trying not to laugh.

“You told us about the spell that stops you from feeling any romantic feelings towards anyone.” Steve states as a matter of fact “That isn’t normal (Y/N), she could be doing strange things that could hurt you.”

You can’t help but chuckle a little before you comment on his concern for you.

“I know it’s strange to understand Steve, but it’s not evil voodoo magic. I’ve known Marge’s family for nearly two hundred years, and they have always had a close connection with the earth; they’re healers and yes they do spells, but the spells are only meant to help you, only if they deem it necessary.” You say with a gentle smile, placing your hand on Steve’s forearm to ease his worries.

“But it’s unnatural to deny yourself all your emotions; don’t you want to have control over yourself completely?” Steve asks, pressing the matter further.

You shake your head; clearly, you were going to have to explain your past a little more than you wanted to Bucky and Steve.

“Remember how, I told Logan and Remy that I had to leave them because if I stayed they would have died?” you ask Steve.

Steve nods his head and keeps looking at you.

“If I hadn’t asked Marge to put that spell on me, I wouldn’t have been able to stay away from Logan and Remy; I would have wanted to go back to them because I loved them.” You state in a monotone voice.

Steve is about to interrupt you when you hold up your hand.

“I know it sounds stupid and silly, but I can’t have a romantic relationship with them; because they will die. So the best thing to do was to ‘cut out my heart’ in a sense, so I could move in and they could live.” You say with a soft smile.

“But it’s wrong (Y/N).” Steve mutters in a timid voice, placing his hand over yours.

“Pal, I think you need to realise something; if (Y/N) had never left the X-men and gone to Marge, we would have never met her and she won’t have joined the Avengers.” Bucky says with a smile.

“That is very true Bucky.” You state with a smile and playful punch Bucky on the shoulder, as he pretends to be injured.

Looking over at Steve, you can see that the whole thing between you and Marge is churning in his head.

“Steve, it’s okay. Just think about and let me know if you don’t want to go; I’ll be okay with it.” You say with a Steve, as he seems to come back to the present “I’m leaving in three days, so for now let’s just enjoy each other’s company.”

Steve sighs and drops his head a little, ‘He looks so conflicted.’ You think to yourself.

“How about we grab a bite to eat?” Bucky pipes up with a smile, as Steve’s stomach growls.

You all look at each other and burst out laughing; clearly, the three of you were becoming more in tune with when one or the other was hungry.

“I’ll second that motion.” You chime in, trying to control your laughter.

Steve gently shoves you into Bucky; which in turn has you and Bucky jumping on top of Steve tickling him mercilessly as he tries to get you both off and catch his breath.

After a few more minutes, you and Bucky decide that Steve’s had enough punishment. Everyone gets up and dusts off their clothes before heading over to a little local diner on the pier.

The places was a little gem in the rough, with amazing food and a view that got most of your attention; amid the casual chatting about the team, the three of you finish eating and make your way back to the car.

Bucky opts to drive back to the compound, with you calling shout gun, leaving Steve to sit in the back seat. The drive is mostly quiet with the music playing on the car interface, which had you singing along and Steve and Bucky looking at you every few minutes with broad smiles on their faces.

Once you were back at the compound, the three of you made your way to the kitchen to hang out before heading to your respective apartments.

“So how long are we going for?” Bucky asks in a curious tone.

You see Steve out of the corner of your eye, looking at both of you before he looks away to pour himself a cup of coffee.

“I usually spend about a month with Marge.” You reply with a smile, spending time with Marge was amazing; Marge lived in a house in the middle of nowhere, completely surrounded by nature and a beautiful waterfall about two kilometres away.

“So what do you do for a whole month?” Bucky asks, with increasing interest.

“Well, I help Marge gather items that she needs for her homemade medicines for the community.” You say with a smile.

“That sounds like fun, kind of like the old days when woman gathered and men hunted.” Bucky says with a mischievous smirk.

You can’t help but laugh at Bucky’s comment, this man seemed to enjoy making you laugh every chance he got.

“Something like that.” You say with a chuckle.

Steve is about to join your conversation with Bucky; when Tony, Bruce, Nat and Clint walked into the kitchen.

“Hey (Y/N), you finally home.” Nat says with a smile and walks over to give you a hug, which you return.

“Where have you three been the whole day?” Tony asks in an amused voice, wiggling his eyebrows at you.

‘Really Tony...’ you ponder to yourself, feeling a little exhausted with Tony’s constant suggestive remarks, ‘Fine you wanna play this game, we’ll play it.’ You think to yourself.

“I’ve been having copious amounts of unprotected sex with Steve and Bucky, on every possible surface and location we could think of.” You say with a sinister smile on your face.

You hear Steve cough into his mug of coffee.

Tony’s face goes pale and shock riddles his facial features “What?!” Tony practically shouts.

Bucky has seemed to have caught onto your little prank and steps closer to you and places his metal arm around your waist and pulls you into his chest; which makes you smile up at Bucky as Tony looks on in utter astonishment.

“I can’t believe it… How could have I been so off on my bet?” Tony mutters under his breath.

That seems to catch your attention “What bet?” you ask with intrigue, as you meet Tony’s gaze.

Steve moves in closer to you and Bucky “(Y/N) do you really want them to believe we’re sleeping together?” Steve whispers in your ears.

You grab Steve’s shirt and pull him in closer to you “Steve, I think it’s about time that Tony learns a little lesson.” You whisper back in his ear, making it look like you were whispering sweet nothings into his ear as the team looked on.

Steve gives you a little nod and gently places his arm around your shoulder since Bucky was quite content with holding onto (Y/N)’s waist.

“Oh... Um, nothing.” Tony stammers, as he quickly moves over to the coffee maker to pour himself a cup.

“You and the team bet on how long it would take for me to have sex with Bucky and/ or Steve?” you ask in an astonished voice.

“Actually (Y/N), it was not the whole team that chose to participate in the aforementioned bet.” Vision states as he phases through the kitchen wall with Wanda in his arms.

“Specifically it was Clint, Sam, Thor, Loki, Tony and I; who are taking part in the bet.” Nat says with a smirk, but before you can answer her, Nat continues “And the bet is still going because I know that you aren’t sleeping with Steve or Bucky... Yet.”

You can’t help but laugh at Nat’s last comment; she always could read you better than most people could.

You turn to look at Bucky who is still smiling mischievously and Steve who looks like he wants nothing more than to throw himself into a hole in the floor.

“Oh thank God, because I don’t want to be the loser of this bet.” Tony sighs in relief, sipping his coffee with complete satisfaction.

“Thanks, Tony, I’m so glad that my lack of a sex life has you so relaxed and confident.” You say in a sarcastic tone, which seems to ignite a yawn out of you.

“Well, that’s our cue to let you get some rest.” Nat says with a gentle smile on her face, as she moves towards the fridge with Bruce.

“I think you’re right Nat.” You say as another yawn makes itself know; you place your hand in front of your mouth.

“I’ll walk you to your apartment.” Steve says with a smile.

“Thank...*yawn*... you *yawn*” you manage to get out.

Bucky gently removes his hand from you and whispers “Good night (Y/N), sleep tight.”

You respond by hugging Bucky close before you let go of him.

The team say their goodnights, as you and Steve leave the kitchen and head towards the elevator.

“You gonna be okay tonight?” Steve asks you in a hushed tone.

You look up at him, as the elevator doors open “I don’t know, but I’ll find out.”

Steve gives you a little nod and enters the elevator with you, not a word is said as the elevator eventually stops on your floor and the doors.

Both of you make it to your apartment and you let Steve inside, he moves over to the kitchen next to the lounge, as you make your way into the bedroom.

You walk up to your chest of drawers and pull out an old pink T-shirt and black boy leg panties, before heading to the bathroom to brush your teeth and change your clothes.

Once you head back into your bedroom, Steve walks in with a cup of water for you; upon seeing you in your sleeping attire Steve blushes like a ripe tomato; quickly placing the cup on your bedside table.

“Um, I’m really sorry for just barging into your room (Y/N).” Steve mumbles as he keeps his eyes on the floor.

You smile at Steve’s ever-present gentleman ways, as you climb under the covers of the bed; lying down and wiggling into a comfortable position.

“It’s okay Steve, you’ve seen less on me than this.” You say with a laugh when you remember one of your missions; that had resulted in your tactical suit being cut off of your body, leaving you in just your bra and panties.

Steve’s blush deepens a little “Do you need anything else?” Steve asks in a soft voice.

‘I really don’t want to fall asleep alone.’ You think to yourself ‘Should I ask him to stay?’ you question yourself internally.

“I’ll get going, so you can rest.” Steve asks as he turns to leave.

“Steve, no wait please.” You blurt out.

Steve turns to look at you with concern in his eyes.

“Please...” you swallow down the doubt in yourself “Please stay with me... Just until I’m asleep...” you ask in a timid voice.

Steve seems to be pondering your request, and after a few moments he moves over to the empty side of your bed and takes a seat before he removes his shoes and lies down on the bed.

You look on as he turns onto his side and meets your eyes, which makes you smile.

“Thank you, Steve.” You say as you shuffle closer to him on the bed.

Steve wraps his arms around you and pulls you as close as possible to his chest.

Not a word is spoken, as you feel sleep begin to take over your body and mind; the rhythmic beat of Steve’s heart lulling you into a comfort and safe place.

 

\------------

 

Steve’s POV

 

You feel (Y/N)’s body relax against you, as she fell asleep in your arms; how many times had you imagined this moment.

‘Stop trying to find something, that isn’t there.’ You berate yourself.

You feel (Y/N)’s breathing even out over the next couple of minutes, focusing on her heartbeat; as your body relaxes with (Y/N) in your arms.

Looking around the room, you see the two stuffed animals that you and Bucky had won for (Y/N) at the Carnival; which brings a smile to your face, as you see all the changes that have taken place over the past few months and you allow yourself to drift a little ‘A nap would be nice.’ You think to yourself.

You’re not sure when sleep overtook you, but you’re brought out of your slumber by thrashing next to you.

Opening your eyes, you see (Y/N) thrashing under the covers of her bed; tears streaming down her face and you panic.

“(Y/N)?!” You say, gently shaking her.

(Y/N)’s hiccups as she mumbles in her sleep “Please… No, I’ll do anything… Not them please…”

“(Y/N) please wake up.” You say a bit louder, hoping to bring her back from the nightmare.

As you rub your hands along her arms, you hear the bracelets give off a beeping noise; and look on in horror.

“FRIDAY, keep track on the levels of (Y/N)’s powers and if the bracelet can handle the output.” You say in a stern voice.

“Of course, Captain Rogers.” FRIDAY replies to your request.

Looking at (Y/N) thrashing around makes you feel a bit helpless, but you pull yourself together and draw the covers back; gently lifting (Y/N)’s upper body against your chest, hoping the warmth would comfort her.

But (Y/N)’s hands and legs won’t be calmed, so you make the difficult decision to restrain her with your own body instead.

Laying on your side, you secure your arms around her upper body; ensuring that her arms are kept by her sides.

Next, you shift your pelvis and place your leg over both of (Y/N)’s, pinning her to the bed so she doesn’t hurt herself.

(Y/N) continues to cry uncontrollably, her body wiggling around as you continue to restrain her.

“It’s okay (Y/N), I’m here.” You whisper in her ear “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

You find yourself whispering reassurances over and over again as the minutes tick by, and you begin to worry that (Y/N) won’t come out of the nightmare; but as you’re about to ask FRIDAY to get Bruce in here with a sedative, (Y/N) slowly starts to calm down.

Once the crying becomes more of a whimper, you gently loosen your grip on her; rubbing your hands up and down her back and arms.

“I’ve got you (Y/N), it’s going to be okay.” You whisper, more to yourself at this point.

You hear a knock on the bedroom door “Com in.” you say in a soft tone.

The door opens and Bucky walks in, concern etched on his face.

“Steve, what’s going on?” Bucky whispers to you, as he makes his way over to you and (Y/N).

“Nightmare…” you say “She’s just started to settle.”

Bucky looks from you to (Y/N) and you can see the worry grow on his face; as he takes a seat on the bed facing you.

Just as Bucky is about to speak; (Y/N) coughs and starts to wake from her nightmare.

Bucky grabs the glass of water from the bedside table and hands it to you, as (Y/N) sits up in bed.

“Here (Y/N), sip some water.” You say, bringing the glass to (Y/N)’s lips.

(Y/N) opens her eyes and looks between you and Bucky, as she takes a sip of water from the glass. Once she’s had enough, you move the glass away from her mouth and hand it back to Bucky, who returns it to the bedside table.

“You okay?” you ask (Y/N) in concern.

“I will be…” (Y/N) replies in a distant voice, as she rubs her eyelids before shuffling down in the bed.

“Do you want us to stay with you?” Bucky asks in a worried tone.

(Y/N) seems to think on the offer that Bucky is making, you almost think she’s going to say no; when she finally speaks.

“Um… Yeah… Please…” (Y/N) says in a timid voice.

Your heart wants to break at hearing how broken (Y/N) sounds, you meet (Y/N)’s gaze and give her a small nod before you lie down on the bed on your back with your hands behind your head.

Bucky seems to meet your gaze, as (Y/N) wiggles closer to you and onto her side, placing her arm across your chest and her leg over yours.

You watch as Bucky doesn’t get too close as he lies down on the other side of (Y/N).

A few moments go by, and (Y/N) lifts her head and turns to look at Bucky; without so much a remake or comment (Y/N) grabs hold of Bucky’s hand and pulls him closer to herself, placing Bucky’s arm around her waist.

Bucky shifts a little to get comfortable and moves his leg over (Y/N)’s leg that is straight next to your leg.

You and Bucky, lay quietly on either side of (Y/N) as she slowly drifts back to sleep; once (Y/N)’s breathing had evened out, you meet Bucky’s gaze and give him a smile.

“So this is what you were up to while I was training?” Bucky whispers in a teasing voice.

“Yeah, I got to be a step ahead of you.” You jokingly state with a chuckle.

Bucky shakes his head at your comment before he shifts his gaze to (Y/N)’s sleeping form.

“You know, you could have called me…” Bucky says in a low voice.

“I’m sorry Buck, it happened so suddenly and I panicked.” You say somewhat embarrassed.

“It’s okay pal, really.” Bucky says with a smile.

You watch in amusement as Bucky nuzzles his face between (Y/N)’s shoulder and neck and falls asleep.

‘That’s going to be difficult to explain.’ You think with a laugh.

Watching over Bucky and (Y/N) for a while, as you eventually let your eyes droop closed and allow sleep with welcome you with open arms.

 

\----------

 

Three Days Later

Bucky’s POV

 

“Come on guys.” (Y/N) yells from the elevator, as you and Steve make your way to the elevator with your duffle bags.

“Someone’s excited to get out of the compound.” You say with a chuckle.

“Well (Y/N) is driving most of the way, so maybe you should be a little nicer.” Steve says in a chiding tone.

“You gonna mother hen me punk?” you say with a smirk.

“Steve’s not trying to mother hen you Bucky.” (Y/N) says with an evil smile “He’s protecting you from what I’ll do to you if you keep wasting time.”

You can’t help but laugh as you enter the elevator with Steve and turn to see the doors close.

As the elevator makes its way to the garage, you can’t help but look impressed that (Y/N) only has one duffle bag and a backpack.

“Well, clearly we’re the girls on this trip, Stevie.” You says with a chuckle, as you meet (Y/N)’s gaze.

“Or maybe I just know how to pack better than you both do.” (Y/N) pipes up with a smirk.

“I love it when you’ve got an attitude.” You say with a broad smirk.

That seemed to get (Y/N) to laugh and Steve to shake his head at the situation.

The elevator doors open on the garage level; the three of you grab your luggage and get out of the elevator, to find the whole team near a black Toyota double cab truck, with four-wheel drive.

The team look at the three of you with smiles on their faces.

“What are you guys up too?” (Y/N) asks with a quirked eyebrow.

“Nothing actually.” Tony states in a nonchalant tone “Just thought I’d let you take this bad boy for a run.” As he throws the keys to the truck at you; which you catch in your free hand with ease.

“So you finished playing with it?” (Y/N) asks in a curious tone.

“Well I knew you’d need it for the trip, so yeah I pulled an all-nighter.” Tony said in a confident tone, giving (Y/N) his signature smile.

(Y/N) drops her duffle bag and pulls Tony into a hug, which catches Tony off guard and makes him laugh.

“Now that’s appreciation for ya.” Tony says with a chuckle.

You can’t help but roll your eyes at Tony’s comment, ever since the party; Tony seemed hell-bent on making you feel jealous, but like the mature adult that you were, you didn’t rise to the occasion.

Nope not once ‘That’s a lie.’ Your mind tells you and you heave out a sigh.

“Ah Bucky, what’s the matter; do public displays of affection bother you?” Sam says in a patronizing tone.

“Nope, looking at your sorry mug does though.” You say with a wicked smirk.

“Oh, that was cold.” Clint pipes up with a laugh.

Steve moves forward and picks up (Y/N)’s duffle, and walks to the back of the truck, pulling the waterproof cover open and places his and (Y/N)’s bag into the back of the truck.

You make your way over and place your bags in before you pull the cover back into place.

The whole team take turns hugging the three of you and wishing you a safe trip, though Sam’s goodbye seemed a bit insincere.

“Have a good trip; at least you won’t irritate anyone asking them to pull their seat forward.” Sam stated with a wide smirk on his face.

You try to punch him, but Sam moves out of the way for Nat to give you a hug; you look at Nat with quirked eyebrows as she pulls you into a hug.

“Look after her Bucky, if anything happens to her; I’ll personally kill you.” Nat whispers and pulls out of the hug and give you a big and sinister smile before heading over to Bruce.

Once all the goodbyes are said; the three of you getting into the truck, (Y/N) taking the driver’s seat and putting her phone into the console built-in the dashboard.

Tony jumps up onto the driver’s side door and pokes his head through the open window “Don’t forget to try out the features.” Tony says to (Y/N) with a smirk on his face.

“Will do kiddo.” (Y/N) says with a broad smile on her face.

‘What are these two up too?’ you ponder to yourself.

Tony jumps down and (Y/N) pulls out of the garage and heads out of the compound.

Looking at the interior of the truck, you notice a broad box behind the driver’s seat and move to open it out of curiosity.

What you find has you opening your mouth in surprise and excitement; the box is filled with all the snacks and drinks that the three of you love.

“Don’t even think about it Bucky.” (Y/N) states in a stern voice and you look up to see her looking at the rearview mirror to watch you.

You smile and close the box before Steve can see what’s inside.

“What was Bucky thinking about?” Steve asks as he looks up at you as puts his phone back in his jeans pocket.

“Nothing at all punk.” You teasingly say to Steve, as you move forward and ruffle his hair.

“Oh, I can see this trip is going to be fun.” (Y/N) says with a chuckle, as a small tussle starts between you and Steve.

You can’t help but laugh, as (Y/N) inputs the navigation coordinates and allows FRIDAY to take over driving, as she sets up the music playlist for the three of you to enjoy.

The three of you connect your phones to the console and select all the songs that get some sort of a reaction, so the first half of the ride is filled with three voices singing along with the music, making pit stops to take photo’s for a scrapbook that Steve wants to start and to take a little break from the confines of the truck.

Once you were all ready to leave, it was back onto the road for the rest of the journey; with Steve taking the backseat this time while you sat up front with (Y/N).

You notice a motorcycle at a distance behind the truck and you narrow your eyes ‘That doesn’t seem right.’ You think to yourself, but before you can make any further investigations; the bike speeds up and overtakes you.

The motorist doesn’t even pay the truck any attention and you feel yourself relax once the bike is completely out of sight.

‘You’re getting paranoid.’ You think to yourself, 'But how often had you been wrong with the feeling you get in your gut?'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone want to guess who the person on the motorbike was??? :)
> 
> Let me know in the comment section

**Author's Note:**

> So let me know your thoughts and comments :)


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